Polyester Materials with Superwetting Silicone Nanofilaments for Oil/Water Separation and Selective Oil Absorption

Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic polyester materials are successfully prepared by one-step growth of silicone nanofilaments onto the textile via chemical vapor deposition of trichloromethylsilane. The successful growth of silicone nanofilaments is confirmed with scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and investigation of the wetting behavior of water on the textile. Even microfibers deeply imbedded inside a woven material could be coated very well with the nanofilaments. The coated textile is water repellant and could only be wetted by liquids of low surface tension. The applications of the coated textile as a membrane for oil/water separation and as a bag for selective oil absorption from water are studied in detail. Owing to the superwetting properties and flexibility of the coated textile, excellent reusability, oil/water separation efficiency, and selective oil absorption capacity are observed, which make it very promising material, e.g., for practical oil absorption.