title: Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic polydimethylsiloxane-coated cotton for oil-water separation process: An evidence of the relationship between its loading capacity and oil absorption ability.
abstract: Developing functional porous materials with highly efficient oil-water separation ability are of great importance due to the global scale of severe water pollution arising from oil spillage and chemical leakage. A solution immersion process was used to fabricate polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated cotton, which exhibited superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties. The water contact angle of ∼ 157° and mass of ∼ 1.49 g were retained after 1000 compression cycles, indicating that the PDMS was strongly attached to the cotton fibres. The PDMS-coated cotton absorbed various oils and organic solvents with high selectivity, high absorption capacity (up to 7080 wt.%), and good recyclability (exceeding 500 cycles). Notably, the loading capacity of the PDMS-coated cotton against water exhibited a similar trend to its oil absorption capacity. These findings will further the application of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic porous materials in oil/water separation.
authors.affiliation: College of chemistry and materials engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang 325035, PR China.
authors.forename: Yangxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: College of chemistry and materials engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang 325035, PR China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: College of chemistry and materials engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang 325035, PR China. Electronic address: Qingke@wzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qingping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: College of chemistry and materials engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang 325035, PR China.
authors.forename: Feihuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: College of chemistry and materials engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang 325035, PR China.
authors.forename: Yinshengnan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: College of chemistry and materials engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang 325035, PR China.
authors.forename: Yixiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Cotton; Loading capacity; Oil absorption capacity; PDMS; Superhydrophobic; Superoleophilic