Photothermal Superhydrophobic Chitosan-Based Cotton Fabric for Rapid Deicing and Oil/Water Separation

Abstract

Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics have a lot of potential for use in practical settings. The majority of superhydrophobic cotton fabrics, however, only serve one purpose and are made from fluoride or silane chemicals. Therefore, it remains a challenge to develop multifunctional superhydrophobic cotton fabrics using environmentally friendly raw materials. In this study, chitosan (CS), amino carbon nanotubes (ACNTs), and octadecylamine (ODA) were used as raw materials to create CS-ACNTs-ODA photothermal superhydrophobic cotton fabrics. The cotton fabric that was created showed a remarkable superhydrophobic property with a water contact angle of 160.3°. The surface temperature of CS-ACNTs-ODA cotton fabric can rise by up to 70 °C when exposed to simulated sunlight, demonstrating the fabric’s remarkable photothermal capabilities. Additionally, the coated cotton fabric is capable of quick deicing. Ice particles (10 μL) melted and began to roll down in 180 s under the light of “1 sun”. The cotton fabric exhibits good durability and adaptability in terms of mechanical qualities and washing tests. Moreover, the CS-ACNTs-ODA cotton fabric displays a separation efficacy of more than 91% when used to treat various oil and water mixtures. We also impregnate the coating on polyurethane sponges, which can quickly absorb and separate oil and water mixtures.

Fabrication of robust and sustainable superhydrophobic cotton fabrics via surface micro-dissolve methode for oil/water separation

“…Addressing the e cient and rapid separation of oil-water mixtures has become a global priority. Inspired by the "lotus leaf effect," researchers have leveraged biomimicry to develop superhydrophobic materials with unique structures, offering a straightforward and effective approach to wastewater separation (Yan et al, 2020;Xue et al, 2023;Zheng et al, 2022). Typically, superhydrophobic materials exhibit varying wettability towards different liquids due to the signi cant surface tension disparity between oil and water at the material interface, enabling selective repulsion or wetting of water and oil to achieve e cient separation of oil-water mixtures (Sam et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2019;.…”