Facial preparation of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic textiles by depositing nano-SiO₂ for oil–water separation

Abstract

In this study, a facile one-step dip-coating approach was reported for the fabrication of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic cotton fabrics for oil–water separation. By depositing the hydrophobic nano-SiO₂ on the micro-scale cotton fabric surface, the combination of the nano-SiO₂ and the micro-roughness cotton fabric created a micro/nano-binary surface roughness and presents superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity. SEM, EDS, and TGA result shows that the treated cotton fabric was completely covered by the nano-SiO₂ particles when the nano-SiO₂ particles was about only 3.6 wt% of the pristine cotton fabric. The separation efficiency of the fabricated superhydrophobic and superoleophilic fabric was calculated up to 98.3 wt%. The one-step production technique described here is realizable for industrial use, relatively mild processing conditions, and large-scale fabrication.

Keywords:

• Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic
• cotton fabrics
• nano-SiO₂
• oil–water separation