Multifunctional superhydrophobic self-cleaning cotton fabrics with oil-water separation and dye degradation via thiol-ene click reaction

Yang, Y., Guo, Z., Li, Y., Qing, Y., Wang, W., Ma, Z., You, S. and Li, W. (2022) Multifunctional superhydrophobic self-cleaning cotton fabrics with oil-water separation and dye degradation via thiol-ene click reaction. Separation and Purification Technology, 282(Part B), 120123. (doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.120123)

Abstract

Wastewater treatment is a process of significant socio-environmental implications, constantly calling for effective methods towards higher sustainability. In this work, an environment-friendly fluorine-free modified cotton fabric (C-S-TiO2 cotton fabric) was successfully prepared by the combination of in-situ growth of TiO2 and hydrophobic modification with octadecyl methacrylate (ODMA) by thiol-ene click reaction. The prepared cotton fabric showed superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity (water contact angle≈156.2°), self-cleaning property and an ultra-high separation efficiency (>99.90 %) for different kinds of oil-water mixtures with the flux up to 6800 L m−2 h−1. It was found that the achieved oil separation efficiency was above 99.80 % after 20 cycles. Besides, the C-S-TiO2 cotton fabric demonstrated an excellent photocatalytic degradation rate for methyl blue (MB) (98.0 %) and the degradation rate was still above 97.0 % after 5 cycles. Importantly, the C-S-TiO2 cotton fabric was tolerant towards different harsh environments conditioned by acidic solution, alkaline solution, salt solution, and organic solvent. Herein, C-S-TiO2 cotton fabric was regarded as a promising material for complex wastewater treatment.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Prof. Wangliang Li would like to thank the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22078347), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21961160745), Key Research and Development Program of Hebei Province, China (20374001D; 21373303D), and Program of Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, CAS (IAGM2020C04). Dr. Siming You would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Programme Grant (EP/V030515/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: You, Dr Siming

Creator Roles

You, S.: Writing – review and editing, Supervision, Resources, Funding acquisition

• Authors: Yang, Y., Guo, Z., Li, Y., Qing, Y., Wang, W., Ma, Z., You, S., and Li, W.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Separation and Purification Technology
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1383-5866
• ISSN (Online): 1873-3794
• Published Online: 12 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
• First Published: First published in Separation and Purification Technology 282(Part B): 120123
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
309846		Decentralised water technologies	William Sloan	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/V030515/1	ENG - Infrastructure & Environment