One-step fabrication of eco-friendly superhydrophobic fabrics for high-efficiency oil/water separation and oil spill cleanup

The oily wastewater and oil spill caused by oil leakage accidents are extremely harmful to human health and the environment. Thus, it is very important to exploit superhydrophobic separation materials and technologies for oil/water separation and oil spill cleanup. In this study, using the 1,4-conjugate addition reaction between polyethyleneimine (PEI) and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl acrylate (TMSPA), hydrolysis condensation reaction of TMSPA and dodecyltrimethoxysilane (DTMS) jointly connecting to the surface of hydrophilic silica nanoparticles, and hydrogen bond interaction of the residual amino group on the surface of PEI, covalently-crosslinked rough network structures were constructed on fabric surfaces, which endow PEI/TMSPA/SiO2/DTMS fabrics with excellent superhydrophobic properties. The obtained superhydrophobic fabric not only showed excellent heat resistance and excellent stability to acid, alkali, salt and organic solvents, but also showed good mechanical stability to tape stripping and washing tests. The superhydrophobic, superoleophilic properties and porous structure of the modified fabric make it have excellent oil/water separation efficiency (98.49% after 18 cycles) and oil spill cleanup efficiency (95.35% after 9 cycles). This superhydrophobic PEI/TMSPA/SiO2/DTMS fabric has characteristics of simple preparation, environmental friendliness and scale-up, which makes it a very promising separation material for actual oil/water separation and oil spill cleanup.