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Preparation of Robust Superhydrophobic Sand by Chemical Vapor Deposition of Polydimethylsiloxane for Oil/Water Separation
Author(s) -
Mosayebi Elham,
Azizian Saeid,
Noei Nima
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.202000425
Subject(s) - polydimethylsiloxane , contact angle , materials science , scanning electron microscope , deposition (geology) , wetting , chemical vapor deposition , chemical engineering , surface energy , nanotechnology , creatures , composite material , paleontology , sediment , engineering , biology , history , archaeology , natural (archaeology)
In recent years, oil has been released by industrial activities into the aquatic environment and threatened human's and creatures’ health, hence researchers are seeking to find proper methods to separate oil from water. Superhydrophobic surfaces are promising materials for oil/water separation. In the present work, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is loaded on the surface of sand grains by chemical vapor deposition method. The preparation method is a single‐step and simple method and just needs small amounts of a single component (PDMS). The prepared sample is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and energy dispersive X‐Ray (EDS) methods, also water contact angle is measured. The water contact angle is about 152±1° and the surface shows superhydrophobic property which can be used as an efficient filter for oil/water separation. The oil/water separation efficiency is high (98%) and almost constant after 25 cycles. The obtained superhydrophobic sand is stable in harsh and corrosive conditions for instance acidic and basic solutions.