Fabrication of durable superhydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric for highly efficient oil/water separation.

In the present work, dopamine is self-polymerized on cotton fabric by a simple deep-coating method and followed by modification with an ethanolic solution of palmitic acid: a superhydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric was obtained. The as-prepared cotton fabric exhibits a superhydrophobic character with a water contact angle of 157o. The absorption capacity of as-prepared superhydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric in n-hexane, petroleum ether, and silicone oil was determined. The results show that silicone oil has the highest absorption capacity while n-hexane has the lowest value. The absorption capacity is nearly constant even after ten cycles, indicating the efficient recyclability of the as-prepared superhydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric for oil separation. The as-prepared superhydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric shows excellent separation efficiency, high flux rate, and excellent chemical and mechanical stability.