A novel superhydrophobic cotton fabric constructed by rosin-based polymer and nano-hydroxyapatite for oil/water separation

Abstract

The discharge of oily wastewater in daily life and industrial production has inflicted severe damage on the natural environment and human health. Therefore, it is urgent to separate oily wastewater. Herein, a rosin-based polymer (poly(DR-DMP)) was prepared by polymerization of double-bond functionalized rosin acid (DR) and diethyl(methacryloyloxymethyl)phosphonate (DMP). And a novel superhydrophobic cotton fabric was constructed by poly(DR-DMP) and nano-hydroxyapatite (HAP). The water contact angle (WCA) and sliding angle (SA) of poly(DR-DMP)@HAP fabric achieved values of 162° and 8°, respectively. Meanwhile, the poly(DR-DMP)@HAP fabric had excellent separation performance for several oil/water mixtures, with oil fluxes up to 8941.83 L·m−2·h−1 and separation efficiency (more than 95.35 %). Furthermore, the poly(DR-DMP)@HAP fabric exhibited excellent separation performance for various emulsions, and also had excellent superhydrophobicity and oil/water separation performance after mechanical and chemical treatment. Through the vertical flame test (VFT) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), the results showed that poly(DR-DMP)@HAP fabric had a certain flame retardancy. Overall, poly(DR-DMP)@HAP fabric had excellent superhydrophobicity, self-cleaning, oil/water separation and flame retardancy, which had great application potential in oil/water separation.