Environmentally benign and durable superhydrophobic coatings based on short fluorocarbon chain siloxane modified halloysite nanotubes for oil/water separation

Development of a superhydrophobic and superoleophilic halloysite nanotube/phenyltriethoxysilane-coated melamine sponge sorbent material with high performance in supercritical CO2 atmosphere for the selective and effective oil spill cleanup and oil-water separation

In this study, activated halloysite nanotube (HNT) and phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES) were utilized for the first time to fabricate modified HNT materials and coat them onto melamine sponge (MS) substrate in the supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) atmosphere. The successful coating of MS substrate was confirmed using SEM, EDS, XPS, and contact angle measurements. The drainage technique applied in the CO2 medium achieved the uniform coating of both the inner and outer surfaces of the MS. Water and oil contact angles of the fabricated sorbent material (MS-PTES) were measured as 167.1° and 0°, respectively. MS-PTES sorbent having superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties demonstrated sorption capacities ranging from 47.6 g/g to 132.2 g/g for 13 different pollutants, including various petroleum products, oils, and organic solvents. Moreover, the MS-PTES sorbent material showed outstanding separation efficiency (99.99%) for the diesel-water mixture using a continuous separation process. It also displayed high selectivity for oil and organic solvent pollutants under acidic, saline, and alkaline conditions, along with excellent reusability, chemical stability, robustness, and mechanical flexibility. MS sorbent material coated with HNT-modified PTES nanoparticles, produced in the scCO2 atmosphere using the drainage technique, represents a promising solution for the removal of petroleum derivatives, oils, and organic solvents from water.

Application of Superhydrophobic Mesh Coated by PDMS/TiO2 Nanocomposites for Oil/Water Separation

Superhydrophobic materials have recently attracted great interest from both academia and industry due to their promising applications in self-cleaning, oil-water separation, etc. Here, we developed a facile method to prepare hybrid PDMS/TiO₂ fiber for superhydrophobic coatings. TiO₂ could be uniformly distributed into PDMS, forming a hierarchical micro/nano structure on the surface of the substrate. The contact angle of the superhydrophobic coating could reach as high as 155°. The superhydrophobic coating possessed good self-cleaning performance, corrosion resistance, and durability. It was found that gravity-driven oil-water separation was achieved using stainless steel mesh coated with the PDMS/TiO₂ coating. More importantly, the coated filter paper could not only separate oil and pure water but also corrosive solutions, including the salt, acid, and alkali solution.