Candle Soot Research Articles

Durable Hydrate-phobic Coating with In Situ Self-Replenishing Hydrocarbon Barrier Films for Low Clathrate Hydrate Adhesion.

Clathrate hydrate growth, deposition, and plug formation during oil and gas transportation causes blockage of pipelines. An effective strategy to solve this problem is to mitigate the hydrate formation and reduce its adhesion on pipe walls through a coating process. However, durability failure, corrosion, inability to self-heal, high cost, and strong hydrate adhesion remain unsolved issues. To address these challenges, in this work, we present an in situ self-replenishing nonfluorinated durable hydrate-phobic coating of candle soot particles. The candle soot coating reduces hydrate adhesion by promoting a thick barrier film of hydrocarbons between the hydrate and the soot coated substrate. The hydrocarbons permeating the soot coating display a high contact angle for water and inhibit the formation of water bridges between the hydrate and soot coated substrate. The spherical cyclopentane hydrate slides off easily on the candle soot coating inside the cyclopentane environment. The hydrate former, cyclopentane-water emulsion, and THF-water mixture have high contact angles as well as low hydrate adhesion on soot coating simultaneously. In addition, the coating is flow-induced long-term slippery, durable, low cost, anticorrosion, self-cleaning, and suitable for practical applications.

Highly durable superhydrophobic surfaces based on a protective frame and crosslinked PDMS-candle soot coatings

Superhydrophobic surfaces can be applied to environmental, energy, and healthcare fields. However, the weak durability issue has significantly limited the practical industrial applications. To overcome the readily destroyed interfacial structures and chemical compositions, the superhydrophobic surfaces with high mechanical and chemical durability have been created on a stainless steel mesh (SSM) as a protective frame based on tightly crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)−candle soot (CS) composite coatings through simple mechanical transfer and candle burning processes, which abbreviated to SSM/PDMS−CS and showed a water contact angle (WCA) of 159.4° ± 1.6° and a sliding angle (SA) of 2.3° ± 0.5°. Harsh abrasion examinations based on sandpaper and fiber paper have been conducted by applying 100 g weight and 200 cm sliding distance. And the obtained WCAs and SAs were 155° ± 3.7°, 155.7° ± 2° and 3.7° ± 0.5°, 3.5° ± 0.3°. Scanning electron microscope showed scratches on the surface, but the superhydrophobic property has been well maintained. After 40 kHz ultrasonication treatment for 30 min, WCA and SA were 152° ± 0.9° and 4.1° ± 0.8°. Finally, SSM/PDMS−CS surfaces exhibit good chemical resistance to corrosive solutions even after pH 2, pH 10, 1 M NaCl, and toluene treatments for 15 days.

Enhanced Photoacoustic Visualisation of Clinical Needles by Combining Interstitial and Extracorporeal Illumination of Elastomeric Nanocomposite Coatings.

Ultrasound (US) image guidance is widely used for minimally invasive procedures, but the invasive medical devices (such as metallic needles), especially their tips, can be poorly visualised in US images, leading to significant complications. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is promising for visualising invasive devices and peripheral tissue targets. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) acting as PA excitation sources facilitate the clinical translation of PA imaging, but the image quality is degraded due to the low pulse energy leading to insufficient contrast with needles at deep locations. In this paper, photoacoustic visualisation of clinical needles was enhanced by elastomeric nanocomposite coatings with superficial and interstitial illumination. Candle soot nanoparticle-polydimethylsiloxane (CSNP-PDMS) composites with high optical absorption and large thermal expansion coefficients were applied onto the needle exterior and the end-face of an optical fibre placed in the needle lumen. The excitation light was delivered at the surface by LED arrays and through the embedded optical fibre by a pulsed diode laser to improve the visibility of the needle tip. The performance was validated using an ex-vivo tissue model. An LED-based PA/US imaging system was used for imaging the needle out-of-plane and in-plane insertions over approach angles of 20 deg to 55 deg. The CSNP-PDMS composite conferred substantial visual enhancements on both the needle shaft and the tip, with an average of 1.7- and 1.6-fold improvements in signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), respectively. With the extended light field involving extracorporeal and interstitial illumination and the highly absorbing coatings, enhanced visualisation of the needle shaft and needle tip was achieved with PA imaging, which could be helpful in current US-guided minimally invasive surgeries.

Nitrogen-doped nanocarbon derived from candle soot for persulfate activation on sulfamethoxazole removal: Performance and mechanism

Recently, carbon materials have attracted much attention in activating persulfate (PS) for the removal of organic pollutants. Seeking a greener, lower-cost, and higher-performance carbon material has become an important aspect of research. In this study, candle soot was innovatively used as a nanocarbon material, and its performance for PS activation was improved by simple ammonium ferric citrate modification. The optimal catalytic performance was achieved using 0.15 g/L modified candle soot (AS) and only 0.1 mM PS, with sulfamethoxazole (SMX) removal efficiency up to 95.5% within 120 min. Quenching tests, together with electron paramagnetic resonance measurements, showed that O2− and 1O2 were the main reactive species for SMX degradation. Meanwhile, electron transfer pathway was also occurred. Various characterization results showed that graphitic N and carbonyl group were the main active sites for PS activation. Moreover, AS/PS system exhibited high catalytic activity and stability for SMX degradation over a wide initial pH range (3∼9), or even in the presence of Cl−, H2PO4− and NO3−. This work not only taps the potential of candle soot as an environmental functional material, but also showcases the roadmap for the discovery, design, and resource utilization of other waste carbon materials in wastewater treatment.

Candle Soot-Based Electrosprayed Superhydrophobic Coatings for Self-Cleaning, Anti-Corrosion and Oil/Water Separation.

The interest in candle soot (CS)-based superhydrophobic coatings has grown rapidly in recent years. Here, a simple and low-cost process has been developed for the fabrication of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings through electrospraying of the composite cocktail solution of CS and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Results show that the superhydrophobicity of the coating closely relates to the loading amount of CS which results in coatings with different roughnesses. Specifically, increasing the CS amount (not more than 0.4 g) normally enhances the superhydrophobicity of the coating due to higher roughness being presented in the produced microspheres. Further experiments demonstrate that the superhydrophobicity induced in the electrosprayed coating results from the synergistic effect of the cocktail solution and electrospray process, indicating the importance of the coating technique and the solution used. Versatile applications of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings including self-cleaning, anti-corrosion and oil/water separation are demonstrated. The present work provides a convenient method for the fabrication of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings, which is believed to gain great interest in the future.

Flexible and high-intensity photoacoustic transducer with PDMS/CSNPs nanocomposite for inspecting thick structure using laser ultrasonics

Laser ultrasonic technique has been increasingly implemented for nondestructive testing and structural health monitoring. However, the poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and low amplitude of laser generated ultrasonic signals under thermoelastic regime severely restrict its applications. In this paper, we propose a method for fabricating flexible, high-intensity and readily transplantable photoacoustic transducer (PAT) comprised of candle soot nanoparticles (CSNPs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and utilize it to generate high SNR and amplitude ultrasonic signals for inspecting thick structures. A robotic-arm based layer-by-layer automatic scanning strategy is developed to realize candle soot nanoparticles (CSNPs) deposition with excellent homogeneity and thickness controllability, and the optimal thickness of PDMS/CSNPs nanocomposite layer to achieve high SNR and amplitude ultrasonic signal is obtained. In addition, a novel method for optimizing the PAT's structure to generate distinguishable and pure longitudinal ultrasonic signals is proposed, with amplitude over 100 times, and with center frequency (13.5 MHz) and −6 dB bandwidth (20.1 MHz) 29.8% and 35.8% higher than those generated without PAT. The optimized PAT is eventually combined with laser ultrasonic technique to successfully inspect and visualize the internal defects with various sizes (4, 2, 0.8 mm in diameter) of an aluminum component with thickness of 50 mm. With the merits of flexible and high-intensity nanocomposite PAT, the laser ultrasonics can be promisingly implemented for inspecting structure with large thickness and complex geometry under thermo-elastic mechanism.

Transparent and durable PDMS(O)/HDTMS anti-icing surfaces derived from candle soot

Preventing icing on exposed surfaces is important in our daily life. However, the transparent and durable anti-icing coating is still a challenge. In this work, we demonstrated a transparent oxidized polydimethylsiloxane/hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (PDMS(O)/HDTMS) coating on slide by using the candle soot (CS) as a sacrificial template. The CS as a product of incomplete combustion of candles with a porous network chain structure was firstly deposited on the PDMS coated slide. After a calcination treatment, the CS was removed while the PDMS layer was oxidized and inherited the unique structure of the CS and became transparent and superhydrophilic. With the help of the HDTMS modification, the final PDMS(O)/HDTMS coating exhibited surperhydrophobic property (WCA = 163°, SA < 1°). The coating can preserve its surperhydrophobic state after different mechanical abrasion, acid/base, UV light exposure and icing/thawing cycles. Beneficial from its surperhydrophobic feature, the coating not only postponed the freezing time of the water droplet from 229 to 1022 s, but also enabled the ice slide away by gravity. In addition, the PDMS(O)/HDTMS was successfully used on the glass insulator to delay the ice accumulation. This work provides a facile and environmentally-friendly method to obtain transparent and durable anti-icing coating.

Development of candle soot dispersed phase change material for improving water generation potential of tubular solar distillation unit

Solar still is an economical device for purify brackish water, however its yield is low. Therefore, present work aims to increase the water output of tubular solar still (TSS) by introducing closed mild steel tubes filled with paraffin wax (as phase change material, PCM) and candle soot derived carbon nanoparticles (CSNP, 0.3 wt%) as dispersant for the first time. Experiments were conducted with three TSS – one with conventional TSS without any PCM, and the other two with only PCM and 0.3 wt % CSNP-PCM to augment the water production. There was an increase in thermal conductivity of 40.59% with 0.3 wt % CSNP over the base PCM. TGA analysis showed excellent thermal durability of 0.3 wt % CSNP-PCM and final degradation temperature was 314.26 °C. In addition, the dispersion of CSNP in PCM also altered the phase change temperatures with meager deviation from base case. The thermal performance analysis of TSS show that full day cumulative fresh water generation by conventional TSS was 3.04 kg/m 2 , whereas utilizing the PCM and 0.3% CSNP-PCM in tube inside TSS augmented the water generation by 42.4% and 87.82% respectively, than the baseline case. In addition, the modified TSS with PCM and 0.3 wt % CSNP-PCM exhibited higher energy efficiency of 59.26% and 109.94% respectively, than the base line case. The generated fresh water cost was only 0.014 $/kg for TSS with 0.3% CSNP-PCM. It is concluded that conductive CSNP doped PCM with excellent thermal performance significantly enhanced the water output of the SS and could be widely applied in other design of still for better thermal performance. • A new class of nano-enhanced PCM is prepared by functionalized candle soot particle. • TC of base PCM improved by 40.59% using 0.3 wt% CSNP. • TSS with base PCM improved water yield by 42.4% than baseline case. • TSS with CSNP-PCM improved water yield by 87.82% than baseline case. • Freshwater cost/kg using CSNP-PCM based still was 0.014 $.

Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surface on Low Carbon Steel

The purpose of the present work is to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces on commonly used low carbon steel (AISI 1018). Laser surface texturing (LST) method is used for creating circular textures on mild steel surface having the diameter and pitch of 200 μm each. Two different materials (wax & Candle soot) are used to decrease the surface energy of the mild steel. It is observed from the results that the water contact angle of untreated surface increases from 87° to 155° after LST and lowering the surface energy by using wax, followed by candle soot.

Degradable and stretchable bio-based strain sensor for human motion detection

In recent years, flexible strain sensors have attracted considerable attention for the great application potential in the emerging fields of wearable devices, electronic skin and health monitoring. However, most of flexible strain sensors are nondegradable, and the produced numerous electronic wastes after uselessness will seriously threaten environment and ecology. Herein, we propose a new strategy to fabricate degradable and stretchable bio-based strain sensor using candle soot (CS) particles to construct conductive pathways and chitosan, potato starch (PS), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to form stretchable matrix in the presence of Fe3+ ions. Owing to the formation of multiple hydrogen bonding constructed by chitosan, PS and PVA as well as coordination bonding by Fe3+ ions, the obtained strain sensor showed high elongation at break up to 200% and good fatigue resistance. Furthermore, the firm embedding of the CS particles into the surface of the stretchable matrix endowed the strain sensor with steady sensitivity (gauge factors of 1.49 at 0–60% strain and 2.71 at 60–100% strain), fast response (0.22 s) and good repeatability even after 1000 stretching-releasing cycles. In addition, the strain sensor was successfully applied to detect various human motions including finger and wrist bending, swallowing and pronunciation. Interestingly, after connecting to an Arduino microcontroller circuit with a Bluetooth module, the strain sensor was able to wirelessly detect real-time movements of index finger joints. Different from most previously reported sensors, the prepared strain sensor in this work was completely degraded in 2 wt% CH3COOH solution at 90 °C only within 10 min, thus effectively avoiding the production of electrical waste after the updating and upgrading of the sensors. The findings conceivably stand out as a new methodology to prepare environmental-friendly sensors in the field of flexible electronics, which is very beneficial for the sustainable development of environment and society.

Influence of ionic liquid on rheological behaviors of candle soot and cellulose nanocrystal filled natural rubber nanocomposites

Carbonaceous soot nanoparticles are used as novel filler in combination with cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) to prepare natural rubber (NR) nanocomposites to which ionic liquid (IL) 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride is used to enhance the filler-rubber interaction. Nanocomposites of candle soot (CS) and CNC well dispersed in NR were prepared by latex mixing and mechanical mixing followed by vulcanization. The presence of IL causes a slight agglomeration of the fillers but it improves bound rubber content and crosslinking degree. Both the fillers and IL improve dynamic modulus and tensile stress while they lower loss tangent in the linear viscoelastic region, providing a perspective for manufacturing high–performance rubber materials using novel fillers and modifiers.

Near infrared light responsive surface with self-healing superhydrophobicity in surface chemistry and microstructure

Self-healing superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted considerable attention for enhancing the durability of superhydrophobic coatings, which have applications in various fields. However, it is difficult to find safe and effective strategies for self-healing superhydrophobic coatings to recover both microstructure and surface chemistry simultaneously. Herein, we demonstrate a high-efficiency self-healing hydrophobic surface with remote control ability. Through near infrared light (NIR) irradiation, the collapsed surface microstructure and altered surface chemistry can be recovered easily and simultaneously in a very short period. The extraordinary performance is fully discussed and can be attributed to the excellent photothermal properties of candle soot (CS). In addition, the surface demonstrates repeatable self-healing ability thanks to the good shape memory of the epoxy-based shape memory polymer (SMP) and the continued release of fluorinated alkyl silane encapsulated in microcapsules. The presented surface shows great potential and broad impacts owing to its simplicity and efficiency.

Strain-Dependent Photoacoustic Characteristics of Free-Standing Carbon-Nanocomposite Transmitters

In this paper we demonstrate strain-dependent photoacoustic (PA) characteristics of free-standing nanocomposite transmitters that are made of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and candle soot nanoparticles (CSNP) with an elastomeric polymer matrix. We analyzed and compared PA output performances of these transmitters which are prepared first on glass substrates and then in a delaminated free-standing form for strain-dependent characterization. This confirms that the nanocomposite transmitters with lower concentration of nanoparticles exhibit more flexible and stretchable property in terms of Young’s modulus in a range of 4.08–10.57 kPa. Then, a dynamic endurance test was performed revealing that both types of transmitters are reliable with pressure amplitude variation as low as 8–15% over 100–800 stretching cycles for a strain level of 5–28% with dynamic endurance in range of 0.28–2.8%. Then, after 2000 cycles, the transmitters showed pressure amplitude variation of 6–29% (dynamic endurance range of 0.21–1.03%) at a fixed strain level of 28%. This suggests that the free-standing nanocomposite transmitters can be used as a strain sensor under a variety of environments providing robustness under repeated stretching cycles.

Fabrication of fractal structured soot templated titania-silver nano-surfaces for photocatalysis and SERS sensing

A novel approach of candle soot templated TiO2/Ag nanostructures to fabricate highly active photocatalyst and self-cleaning Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrates is demonstrated. A three-stage synthetic approach involves the replication of the fractal structure of candle soot in forming a high surface area porous TiO2 nanostructure using chemical vapour deposition and subsequent electroless deposition of silver nanoparticles on the high surface area fractal network that resulted in the formation of TiO2/Ag nanostructures. The unique morphology of TiO2/Ag renders these materials to exhibit photocatalytic and SERS activity. These surfaces showed an enhanced photocatalytic effect due to the Schottky junction which increases the recombination time of the charge carriers. The size and the coverage of the silver nanoparticles were optimized to obtain high conversion towards photocatalytic degradation of a model dye molecule such as Rhodamine B (RhB). The same substrate was also shown to enhance the Raman scattering spectra of RhB. The SERS activity of the substrate can be regenerated by photocatalytic cleaning the substrates. Overall, this present work demonstrated that fractal structured TiO2/Ag materials can be synthesized using fractal soot structures and this multi-functional material offers good potential in those applications, where photo-catalysis, SERS sensing, and self-cleaning sensing multifunctionality are required.

Magnetic carbon nanoparticles derived from candle soot for SALDI MS analyses of drugs and heavy metals in latent fingermarks

For decades, the analysis of fingerprints (FP) has been used as the primary biometric mean of human identification. In parallel, the chemical analysis of latent fingermark (LFM) with particular reference to “touch chemistry”, offersadditional intelligence to forensic examination; as such,continuous improvements in the versatility and sensitivity of detection of the molecular make up of FM is of obvious importance. In this light, we propose a facile approach to synthesize magnetic carbon nanoparticles (MCNPs) from candle soot for extraction and detection of endogenous and exogenous FM components. Initially, endogenous components of FM including fatty acids (FAs), squalene andtriacylgycerols(TAGs), were successfully extracted and detected using the developed MCNPs and surface assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS). Furthermore, the MCNPs enabled the detection of exogenous substances including antihistamine,β-blocker, antibiotic drugs and lead in contaminated FMs, whilst providing characteristic and unique fragmentation patterns for each drugs in the FM. The influence of environmental factors such as temperature on the stability of the exogenous substances in FM was investigated by exposing the contaminated FM to different temperatures over 24 h, the findings revealed thedrugs' instability at high temperatures and undergo different degrees of degradationwhereas lead was more resilient to thermal stress. The detection oftriprolidine, metoprolol and sulfamethoxazolefrom pharmaceutical tablets in FM was successfully achieved by gently touching the tablet powder. Thelimit of detection (LOD) values of the drugs in the tablet forms were 50, 200 and 750 ng mL−1for triprolidine, metoprolol and sulfamethoxazole, respectively and their recovery rates were91.17% fortriprolidine, 94.67% formetoprolol and 120.86% for sulfamethoxazole. Finally, to create a genuine casework scenario, contaminated FM was deposited on glass and metal surfaces then subjected to extraction usingMCNPs and magnet without compromising the FM impression. Substrate control experiments revealed that the glass surface exhibiting some background signal, however, they did not interfere with the analysis and satisfactory extraction efficiency of endogenous and exogenous components of the FM on both surfaces was obtained using the MCNPs. Overall, this study proves the capability of MCNPs as new SALDI-MS substrate for both extraction and detection of FM components gathering more information pertaining to the donor’s lifestyle.

Realization of integrative hierarchy by in-situ solidification of ‘semi-cured’ microcilia array in candle flame for robust and flexible superhydrophobicity

Flexible superhydrophobic surfaces have recently attracted extensive interest owing to the potential for diverse curvatures and emerging flexible electronics. However, the simultaneous realization of mechanical robustness, chemical resistance, and maintained superhydrophobicity during deformation is still challenging. Herein, we introduced an environmental-friendly method to produce the integrative multi-level structures by generating the micro-cilia array in a ‘template-free’ manner, followed with in-situ thermal curing in the candle flame before the complete solidification of the micro-structured surface. Instead of weak physical adhesion (van der Waals forces), the candle soot nanoparticles penetrated into the ‘semi-cured’ micro-cilia surface, along with the high temperature to rapidly cure and generate the PDMS-connected integrative architectures, which effectively avoid the interface between the micro/nano-scaled components to eliminate the mechanical fragility. Comparative investigations confirm that the elevated robustness is attributed by the synergistic effect from the ‘semi-cured’ surface and the formation mechanism of subsequent hierarchical structures. The flexible film thus exhibits significantly improved stability against mechanical damage (ultrasonic processing, adhesive pressing, and linear abrasion), chemical corrosion, and water-jet impalement (∼10.4 m s−1 at ∼ 0.17 MPa). With the realization of co-existent features and real-life applications, the green methodology should be promising to open up an avenue that moves superhydrophobicity further to our world.

Non-woven fabric coated with candle soot for water remediation

Non-woven fabric coated with candle soot for water remediation

Facile Fabrication of Highly Hydrophobic Onion-like Candle Soot-Coated Mesh for Durable Oil/Water Separation.

Although sundry superhydrophobic filtrating materials have been extensively exploited for remediating water pollution arising from frequent oil spills and oily wastewater emission, the expensive reagents, rigorous reaction conditions, and poor durability severely restrict their water purification performance in practical applications. Herein, we present a facile and cost-effective method to fabricate highly hydrophobic onion-like candle soot (CS)-coated mesh for versatile oil/water separation with excellent reusability and durability. Benefiting from a superglue acting as a binder, the sub-micron CS coating composed of interconnected and intrinsic hydrophobic carbon nanoparticles stably anchors on the surface of porous substrates, which enables the mesh to be highly hydrophobic (146.8 ± 0.5°)/superoleophilic and resist the harsh environmental conditions, including acid, alkali, and salt solutions, and even ultrasonic wear. The as-prepared mesh can efficiently separate light or heavy oil/water mixtures with high separation efficiency (>99.95%), among which all the water content in filtrates is below 75 ppm. Besides, such mesh retains excellent separation performance and high hydrophobicity even after 20 cyclic tests, demonstrating its superior reusability and durability. Overall, this work not only makes the CS-coated mesh promising for durable oil/water separation, but also develops an eco-friendly approach to construct robust superhydrophobic surfaces.

Vapor deposition of ultrathin hydrophilic polymer coatings enabling candle soot composite for highly sensitive humidity sensors

Candle soot (CS) is a desirable carbon nanomaterial for sensors owing to its highly porous nanostructure and large specific surface area. CS is advantageous in its low-cost and facile preparation compared to graphene and carbon nanotubes, but its pristine nanostructure is susceptible to collapse, hampering its application in electronic devices. This article reports conformal coating of nanoscale crosslinked hydrophilic polymer on CS film using initiated chemical vapor deposition, which well preserved the CS nanostructure and obtained nanoporous CS@polymer composites. Tuning coating thickness enabled composites with different morphologies and specific surface areas. Surprisingly, the humidity sensor made from composite with the lowest filling degree, thus largest specific surface area, showed relatively low sensitivity, which is likely due to its discontinuous structure, thus insufficient conductive channels. Composite sensor with optimum filling degree shows excellent sensing response of more than 103 with the linearity of R2 = 0.9400 within a broad relative humidity range from 11% to 96%. The composite sensor also exhibits outstanding sensing performance compared to literature with low hysteresis (3.00%), a satisfactory response time (28.69 s), and a fast recovery time (0.19 s). The composite sensor is fairly stable and durable even after 24 h soaking in water. Furthermore, embedding a humidity sensor into a face mask realizes real-time monitoring of human breath and cough, suggesting promising applications in respiratory monitoring.

Efficient oil\u2013water separation coating with robust superhydrophobicity and high transparency

There has been a growing interest in oil–water separation due to the massive economic and energy loss caused by world-wide oil spill. In the past decades, a new type of superhydrophobic surface has been developed for the efficient oil–water separation, but its large-scale use is significantly limited by its expensive, sophisticated, and fragile roughness structure. Meanwhile, to handle complex operating conditions, the transparency of the superhydrophobic surface has been more attractive due to its potential visual oil–water separation and optical application scenarios. Herein, we showed a simple and versatile strategy to fabricate superhydrophobic coating with robustness and high transparency. Subsequently, this multifunctional superhydrophobic coating was utilized for oil–water separation and indicated excellent separation efficiency. In this strategy, candle soot composed of carbon nanoparticles was deposited onto the substrate and used as a rough surface template. Then, a filmy and hard silica shell was modified onto this template via chemical vapor deposition to reinforce the roughness structure. Following, this soot-silica coated substrate was calcined in air to remove the candle soot template. Finally, based on a rational surface design, this robust silica coating achieved excellent superhydrophobicity thereby showing inherently oil–water separation benefits. This reinforced superhydrophobic coating presented robust superhydrophobicity even after 410 s sand impacting with the height of 40 cm and 20 cycles of sandpaper abrasion. Also, it retained excellent oil–water separation efficiency even after reuses.