Rapid and Stable Plasma Transformation of Polyester Fabrics for Highly Efficient Oil-Water Separation

Fabrics with special wettability have drawn growing attention in recent years in the area of oil-water separation due to their low cost, good flexibility, and ease of handling. However, an efficient and fast method to enable the required wetting state on fabrics still remains a challenge. In this work, a one-step, rapid, and chemical-free hydrogen plasma treatment is reported to prepare a superhydrophobic and oleophilic polyester fabric. The as-prepared fabrics display a static water contact angle of 153.2° with excellent oil-water separation capability. The mechanism of surface transformation is discussed through chemical analyses, which indicate a significant removal of carboxyl group from the pristine hydrophilic surface. This developed method is envisaged to be used for on-demand large-scale production of materials for emergency oil cleanup through either separation or selective adsorption.