Fabrication of Superhydrophobic (TiO₂/PDMS) Coating For Oil-Water Separation

Abstract

Oil-contaminated water as a result of oil spill disasters or industrial disposal is a threat to human health and environmental sustainability on a global scale. The rising need for efficient oil-water separation has led to a growing interest in superhydrophobic materials for this purpose. Due to the regeneration ability of nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2), superhydrophobic and superolephilic TiO2/PDMS were created using a simple, low cost dip coating procedure. TiO2 (NPs) was synthesised by hydrothermal method and modified with PDMS (FS-1200 silicon sealant) solution. The mesh coated had remarkable superhydrophobicity, as seen by a contact angle of 155° with water. Additionally, the surface displayed superoleophilicity, as indicated by an oil contact angle (OCA) of 0°. The coated mesh surface was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, contact angle measurement, field emissions scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The separation of kerosene-water, diesel oil-water combinations, and sunflower oil-water may be effectively achieved via a simple filtering approach using a coated mesh. This method demonstrates a notable separation efficiency of 91.6%.