Facile fabrication of durable superhydrophobic fabrics by silicon polyurethane membrane for oil/water separation

A Fluorine-Free Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric Prepared by a Green and Energy-Saving Method Is Used for Long-Lasting and Efficient Oil-Water Separation

Oil pollution poses a major threat to the ecosystem. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a material that can separate oil and water efficiently. Fabrics have a wide range of applications due to their economic simplicity and degradability. However, the existing methods of preparing superhydrophobic fabrics are complicated and energy-consuming, which are difficult to meet the concept of green and sustainable development. Moreover, various modified fabrics are less stable in harsh environments and do not have the ability to efficiently separate oil and water over a long period of time. In this paper, superhydrophobic zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) obtained from the modification of stearic acid was loaded onto the fabric surface using the adhesive properties of PDMS, resulting in the preparation of superhydrophobic/superoleophilic STA-ZrO2 fabrics. The fabric is made without involving time-consuming and energy-consuming heating, and it offers efficient oil-water separation, good stability and excellent recyclability. Truly in line with the concept of sustainable development.

Assessment of various forms of cellulose-based Luffa cylindrica (mat, flakes and powder) reinforced polydimethylsiloxane composites for oil sorption and organic solvents absorption

Oil spillage has damaged public health noticeably and contributed to significant environmental deterioration. As a result, a significant amount of effort has been spent on investigating and developing the sorbent materials capable of separating oil from water. Thus, the sorbent materials that could be effective particularly in oil spill disposal and resolve such environmental issue remain to be explored. We have proposed luffa cylindrica (LC)-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite forms to remove the oil and organic components that might be hazardous to aquatic organisms. The scaffolds were fabricated using hand lay-up method with various forms of luffa cylindrica i.e., LC mat, flakes and powder. Various characterizations such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), effective porosity, surface wettability, mechanical stability, cytotoxicity and sorption behavior with respect to oil, phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and few organic solvents were performed. The results showed that the scaffold in combination with P-L flakes was highly effective in eradicating oil spills and removing harmful components of crude oil. Scaffolds composed of P-L mat, P-L flakes, P-L powder, and PDMS (P) exhibited oil absorption efficacy around 16.09 ± 4.62 %, 24.49 ± 3.55 %, 15.52 ± 2.67 % and 5.52 ± 1.44 %, respectively. We anticipate that the proposed scaffolds have the tremendous potential to provide a solution to this significant environmental remediation issue and to serve as a cost-effective method for removing oil spills and hazardous crude oil components.