Fluorine-free and hydrophobic hexadecyltrimethoxysilane-TiO2 coated mesh for gravity-driven oil/water separation

Abstract

Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic meshes have attracted great attention in oil/water separating application. However, superhydrophobic surfaces are not only complicated in preparation but also easy to break in practical applications. In this paper, we prepared fluorine-free hydrophobic hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS)-TiO2 coated meshes with properties of cost-effectiveness, easy to manufacture, and high separation efficiency by a liquid phase deposition method. The surface topography, composition, and functional groups of the meshes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform microscopic infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) spectrum, respectively. A new gravity-driven oil/water separator was designed for the separation experiments. The separation efficiency of the hydrophobic HDTMS-TiO2 coated meshes maintained over 97.8% after 35 separating cycles. This study indicated that the superhydrophobicity of the separating mesh was nonessential for the highly efficient oil-water separation. The fluorine-free hydrophobic HDTMS-TiO2 coated meshes provided an economical and beneficial solution to treat 2 industrial oily wastewater mixtures and environmental oil spills.

Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic polyester fabric based on rapid oxidation polymerization of dopamine for oil–water separation

“…The WCA decreased by about 10 compared with that before soaking, which may be due to the fact that part of HDS was dissolved in the organic solvents, which increased the surface energy of the fabric and destroyed the superhydrophobic property. 54,55 It can be seen from the stability test results that the prepared superhydrophobic PET fabric has excellent resistance to washing, abrasion, UV irradiation, sea water, acid/alkali and organic reagents, which provides basis for its application in oil/water separation.…”

“…The -O]C-O vibration absorption bands of aromatic esters appear at 1245 cm À1 and 1094 cm À1 , and the peak at 1016 cm À1 (ref 47[48][49][50],. indicating that the long-chain alkyl groups were successfully introduced to the surface of PET.Fig.…”

Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Silane Grafting on TiO2 Nanoparticles: Photocatalytic Paint for Atmospheric Cleaning

“…A number of variables, including the characteristics and volume of silanes and the distribution and size of TiO 2 NPs, may affect the efficacy of the treatment method and the exterior physiochemical properties of modified TiO 2 NPs. To date, various silanes have been employed to modify TiO 2 NPs including hexadecyltrimethoxysilane [34], (3-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxylsilane [26], 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate [35], octadecyltrimethoxysilane [36], 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane [37], vinyltrimethoxysilane [38], bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide [39], and (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane [40], among others.…”

“…Numerous studies have found that TiO 2 -based superhydrophobic suspensions represent a viable means of external surface cleaning coatings (via a self-cleaning method) [34,[41][42][43]. Lu et al [44] discussed the use of a highly adaptable ethanolic suspension of perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane-coated dual-sized TiO 2 NPs, which achieved definite self-cleaning and preserved superhydrophobicity even after immersion in oil.…”

Removal of Oily Contaminants from Water by Using the Hydrophobic Ag Nanoparticles Incorporated Dopamine Modified Cellulose Foam

“…Oil spills can cause severe health and environmental impacts and enormous economic losses [ 1 ]. Oil spills in water may cause oxygen deficiency in aquatic systems, leading to the death of living organisms [ 2 ]. The separation of oil-related contaminants from water has received significant importance due to their substantial adverse impact on the economy and the environment.…”