Fabrication of superhydrophobic (CuO-SiO2) nanocomposite coating for oil/water separation

Abstract

ABSTRACT The presence of oil-contaminated water due to oil spill disasters or improper industrial waste dumping is now a worldwide danger to both human health and the sustainability of the environment.The use of superhydrophobic materials has attracted considerable attention in the field of oil-water separation, owing to the increasing demand for effective and economical oil-water separation techniques.A new, easy, and inexpensive flame treatment method was used to make a nanocomposite (CuO-SiO2) in order to improve its hierarchical structure (micro-nano).The anodisation process produced copper oxide (CuO) nanostructures (NSs) on a copper mesh. Subsequently, the nanostructures were modified by dip coating with a solution of room-temperature vulcanised silicone rubber (RTV-SR).The coated mesh demonstrated remarkable characteristics of superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, with a water contact angle (WCA) of (160 ± 1 ° ) and an oil contact angle (OCA) of (0 ° ), as determined during the measurement of the surface’s wetability. The coated mesh surface was characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).The successful separation of kerosene-water and diesel oil-water mixtures is accomplished by using a coated mesh in a simple filtration procedure. Furthermore, it has the capability to separate oils with a high efficiency of (99.8%) for kerosene and (87%) for diesel oil. It also has flux values of (7352.9 L.m -2 .h -1 ) for kerosene and (6112.9 L/m 2 .h) for diesel.