Rapid dipping preparation of superhydrophobic TiO2 cotton fabric for multifunctional highly efficient oil-water separation and photocatalytic degradation

In past decades, the frequent emergence of offshore oil accidents and the increasing of soluble pollutants have caused enormous damage to the ecosystem. It is urgent to develop efficient oil-water separation and water purification materials. In this work, a superhydrophobic material on the pretreated cotton fabric is prepared by simple immersion in TiO2 nanoparticles and stearic acid solution. The resultant composited fabrics not only exhibited considerable superhydrophobicity with a water static contact angle of 157.3 degrees and a water shedding angle of 5 degrees favorable for oil-water separation, but also achieved the excellent photocatalytic activity by the degradation of water-soluble pollutants under visible light irradiation. The degradation efficiency could reach 98.4% within 60 min under visible light irradiation. Additionally, the coated cotton fabrics have excellent self-cleaning and stain resistance properties. After more than ten-cycles tests, the composited fabrics still maintain favorable performance of oil-water separation and photocatalytic degradation, which proves the excellent reusability. In the light of the outstanding predominance of the multifunction cotton fabrics, this simple, cost-effective, environmentally friendly and suitable for large-scale production strategy can boost the development of multipurpose superwetting materials, providing great tantalizing potential for oily wastewater efficient pu-rification and environmental remediation.

Automated summary

In the past decades, offshore oil accidents and soluble pollutants have caused significant damage to the ecosystem. Therefore, the development of efficient oil-water separation and water purification materials is urgent. This study successfully prepared a superhydrophobic material on cotton fabric, which exhibited superhydrophobicity for oil-water separation and excellent photocatalytic activity for degrading water-soluble pollutants under visible light irradiation. The coated cotton fabrics also showed good self-cleaning and stain resistance properties, indicating their excellent reusability.