A facile approach for making superhydrophobic cotton fabric membrane for oil water separation

Abstract

The current global environmental challenge is largely caused by oil contamination, which has grown into a major cause of water pollution. Despite numerous endeavors to build materials for oil-water separation, their use in real-world applications is constrained by their ineffectiveness in preparation, low separation efficiency, poor mechanical stability, limited chemical tolerance, inadequate environmental resistance and insufficient reusability. To get over these problems, a superhydrophobic oil-water separation membrane was made by anchoring vinyltris(2-methoxyethoxysilane) on the surface of cotton fabric using a simple dip coating approach. Scanning electron microscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and water contact angle (WCA) assessment tools were utilized to characterize the morphologies, composition, chemical components, and wettability of the modified fabric. The functionalized fabric revealed not only the anticipated superhydrophobic behavior for oil-water separation with a WCA of 153.3° but also intimated remarkable separation efficiency. Additionally, fabric's excellent mechanical and chemical stability in harsh conditions and good reusability. This strategy is the best solution for constructing advanced o/w separation membranes. Because it may be utilized to produce long-lasting superhydrophobic filtering materials for o/w separation, this straightforward method is preferable. In this study, VTMEOS is being used for the first time to create an economical, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly superhydrophobic membrane for oil/water separation by following a one-step, simple, and low-energy method, with better WCA and efficiency for higher number of cycles of reusability.