One-step fabrication of robust fabrics with both-faced superhydrophobicity for the separation and capture of oil from water

Abstract

In this work, a facile and inexpensive one-step sonochemistry irradiation method was developed for the fabrication of SiO2 nanoparticles functionalized with octadecyltrimethoxysilane and their in situ incorporation into cotton fabrics. The double sides of as-prepared fabrics show both superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties simultaneously with a high water contact angle of 159 ± 1° and an oil contact angle of 0°. Thus, it can be used to separate and capture a series of oils from water, like kerosene, toluene and chloroform, etc. In addition, the as-prepared fabrics still have superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of above 150° after 40 separation cycles with the separation efficiency for the kerosene-water mixture always above 94.6%. More importantly, the as-prepared fabrics showed robust and stable superhydrophobic properties towards hot water, many corrosive solutions (acidic, basic, salt liquids) and mechanical abrasion. Therefore, this reported fabric has the advantages of scalable fabrication, high separation efficiency, stable recyclability, and excellent durability, exhibiting the strong potential for industrial production.

Recent Development of Advanced Materials with Special Wettability for Selective Oil/Water Separation

“…The controllable in situ growth of inorganic nano-and microcrystals on textiles offers another way to achieve uniform coatings and tunable surface roughness. [52][53][54][55][56] For example, various metal oxide nanoparticles (e.g., FeO, NiO, etc.) could be coated onto fabrics via in situ wet chemical growth.…”

Rapid fabrication and characterization of superhydrophobic tri-dimensional Ni/Al coatings

“…Inspired by nature, such as lotus leaf, various promising superhydrophobic surfaces with a water contact angle (WCA) above 150 • have attracted enormous attentions because of their wide attractive applications in oil-water separation, anti-corrosion, drag reduction, anti-wetting [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Among many employed materials, energetic nanomaterials are regarded as the most interesting candidates due to their unique microstructures and superior performances.…”

Electrochemical route to prepare polyaniline-coated meshes with controllable pore size for switchable emulsion separation

“…From a viewpoint of interfacial physical chemistry, the building of superwetting interface between solid phase and liquid phase (water or oil) is an effective and facile way to separate oil and water, which is strongly dependent on the wettability of materials and the roughness of the constructed surfaces. In the past decade, various nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in combination with surface modification technologies have been extensively employed to construct rough surface with special wettability, like superhydrophobic-superoleophilic or superhydrophilic-underwater superoleophobic materials [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The used organics and inorganics include both hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and SiO 2 .…”