Fabrication of special wettability functionalized Mg(OH)2@cotton fabric for oil/water mixtures and emulsions separation

In recent years, inspired by the structure of natural lotus leaves and fish scales, the oil/water separation membrane with special wettability has made remarkable progress. A cost-effective, eco-friendly and facile approach of membranes with special wettability performance is highly desired. Herein, magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)(2)) is synthesized in situ on cotton fabrics through a surface micro-dissolution method to prepare superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic functionalized fabrics. Driven by gravity, the Mg(OH)(2)@fabric can successfully separate the oil/water mixture with high flux of 3027-4137 L/m(2) h and high separation efficiency of 99.5%. In addition, after soaking in harsh environment for 72 h, such as alkali and salt solution, it still has high stability and can be used as a membrane to separate a series of oil/water mixtures. Driven by a constant current pump (200 mL/min), the developed fabric can separate oil-in-water emulsions with a high separation efficiency of 99.5%. After 50 cycles, the separation efficiency of the treated fabric for oil-water mixture is more than 99.3%, and the underwater contact angle is more than 156.6 degrees. This method can simply and effectively produce fabrics that can be used to treat water purification and oily wastewater, and has a broad application prospect. Graphic abstract