Open AccessA robust superhydrophobic TiO2 NPs coated cellulose sponge for highly efficient oil-water separation
Author(s) -
Hui Zhang,
Yuqi Li,
Zexiang Lu,
Lihui Chen,
Liulian Huang,
Mizi Fan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/s41598-017-09912-9
Subject(s) - materials science , sandpaper , abrasion (mechanical) , cellulose , kerosene , chemical engineering , toluene , extraction (chemistry) , composite material , chromatography , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Oil-water separation has recently become a worldwide concern because of the increasing oil spill accidents and industrial oily wastewater generation. Herein, a facile method with the combined superhydrophobic coating and adhesive was used to fabricate superhydrophobic TiO 2 NPs coated cellulose sponge. The developed materials exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity (WCA = 171°) and superoleophilicity (OCA = 0°), which can separate a variety of oil-water mixtures, including chloroform, toluene, kerosene and other contaminations. A high separation efficiency up to 98.5% for chloroform-water mixture was achieved when used for gravity-driven oil/water separation test. More importantly, the as-prepared samples exhibited excellent chemical stability and mechanical abrasion resistance even towards various corrosive oil/water mixtures (such as strong acid, alkali solution and salt-water environment) or a strong abrasion by aluminium oxide sandpaper of 600 mesh. In addition, the separation efficiency remained above 93% even after 40 scratch cycles, and the materials could be reused with a stable hydrophobicity, indicating a strong potential for industrial application.