Bio-Inspired Fabrication of Porous Aromatic Framework-Coated Fabric for Achieving Durable Superhydrophobic Applications

Porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) composed of high-density phenyl units are renowned for stable micro/meso-porous architecture and highly hydrophobic surface, which make them ideal candidates for durable superhydrophobic applications, especially under harsh conditions. Herein, a carbazole-based PAF solid is synthesized using carbazole and triphenylamine as the building units through the C-C linking pattern. For the first time, the PAF powder is uniformly deposited on the fabric surface via a facile dip-coating method, which thus shows superhydrophobicity with high water contact angle of 153.8 degrees and oil contact angle of approximately 0 degrees. Consequently, the PAF-coated fabric displays an outstanding simple oil/water mixture and separation efficiency of over 96% and enables simple and time-saving cyclic utilization at least 10 times. Due to the ultrahigh stability of PAF skeleton, the PAF-based composite maintains high superhydrophobicity under extreme conditions including high temperature, high humidity, and strong acidic/alkaline solutions. These results delineate important research advances toward the implementation of PAF powder in superhydrophobic applications.

Automated summary

A carbazole-based porous aromatic framework (PAF) has been successfully synthesized and deposited on fabric surface, demonstrating high superhydrophobicity and separation efficiency even under extreme conditions. This research represents an important advancement in the field of superhydrophobic applications.