Robust superhydrophobic surface fabrication by fluorine-free method on filter paper for oil/water separation

作者：Teng, Yuhong; Wang, Yufeng^*; Shi, Baoying; Li, Xinyue; Chen, Yunzhi^*

来源：Polymer Testing, 2020, 91: 106810.

DOI：10.1016/j.poiymertesting.2020.106810

• Fluorine-free
• Superhydrophobicity
• Paper substrate
• Robust
• Oil/water separation

Robust superhydmphobic surface exhibiting anti-fouling and self-cleaning ability were successfully fabricated by nano TiO2 modified by gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via wire rod coating. Due to the lower surface energy of PDMS and the hierarchical structure caused by the different aggregation sizes of TiO2 nanoparticles, the contact angle of the resulting superhydmphobic coating was 154.5 degrees and the rolling angle was 3.5 degrees And the coated paper still had good non-wettability under water immersion. In addition, the coated paper was tolerant to mechanical damage and various temperature conditions. Even after 40 sandpaper wear cycles, the coating can still maintain good mechanical stability and superhydrophobicity. The superhydmphobic paper was used for oil-water separation, the separation efficiency was about 98% even after used 10 times. Furthermore, the prepared superhydrophobic paper exhibited excellent self-cleaning and antifouling properties, as well as demonstrated superb resistance to various water solutions owing to its high hydrophobicity. Moreover, the prepared superhydmphobic paper has application prospects in the industry of special wetting materials.