Superhydrophobic/superoleophilic cotton fabrics treated with hybrid coatings for oil/water separation

Abstract

A series of novel superhydrophobic/superoleophilic cotton fabrics with the use of hybrid coatings combined with polyvinylsilsesquioxanes (PVS) polymer and nano-Al2O3 particles were developed successfully by solution immersion. The influences of the concentration of nano-Al2O3 on surface morphology, composition, water-repellent properties, and durability of the treated cotton fabrics were investigated in detail, respectively. Subsequently, oil/water separation performance and self-cleaning ability of the treated cotton fabrics were examined. It is interesting to find that the novel cotton fabrics treated with the hybrid coatings of PVS polymer and nano-Al2O3 exhibited enhanced mechanical properties, excellent water-repellent properties, and durable mechanical stability with the increasing concentration of the nano-Al2O3 particles, compared with cotton fabric treated by the sole PVS without adding nano-Al2O3 particles. Meanwhile, the treated cotton fabrics exhibited high oil/water separation efficiency of 99% and excellent self-cleaning ability when the concentration of nano-Al2O3 particles in composite coatings increases to 2%. The hybrid coatings combined with the PVS polymer and Al2O3 particles are promising in exploitation of superhydrophobic/superoleophilic materials, which can be applied to many fields including oil/water separation, wallpaper and soft tiles, and clothing for oil recovery, water-proof and self-cleaning applications, respectively. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]