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Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Biobased mussel-inspired underwater superoleophobic chitosan derived complex hydrogel coated cotton fabric for
Meng Wang1, Dan-Dan Hu1, Yi-Dong Li1
1Chongqing Key Laboratory of Soft-Matter Material Chemistry and Function Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Abstract:
Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic materials exhibit excellent oil/water separation performance but are usually fabricated from nonrenewable and nondegradable feedstocks and thus would cause secondary pollution after use. Herein, we report a fully biobased and mussel-inspired underwater superoleophobic hydrogel coated cotton fabric (CF) prepared by surface coating and subsequent oxidation polymerization of chitosan & dopamine mixtures. The obtained chitosan & polydopamine hydrogel coated CF (CS&PDA/CF) showed superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, due to the formed rough surface structure with hydrophilic complex hydrogel. The CS&PDA/CF exhibited excellent oil/water separation performance with separation efficiency higher than 99.5% for various oil/water mixtures. Moreover, the CS&PDA/CF showed excellent resistance against various harsh conditions such as boiling water, ultrasonication, and concentrated salt solution, due to the mussel-inspired strong adhesion stabilized structure and morphology. We believe that the fully biobased and mussel-inspired underwater superoleophobic cotton fabric shows great potential as an eco-friendly and high-efficient oil/water separation material.
