A versatile and efficient method to fabricate superhydrophobic biomass for removing/collecting oil contaminants

A highly efficient and versatile method was developed to prepare durable, super hydrophobic surface on various biomass substrates in order to remove organic contaminants from polluted water. This method employed PPy/nanoparticles (TiO2 , Ag and SiO2) in combination with HDTMS modification. The coated biomass possessed durable superhydeophobicity with highest WCA of 168.4 degrees , which could collect the oil from oil-water mixtures and water-in-oil emulsion. The collected organic contaminants could also be decomposed by photocatalysis process with TiO2 coated corn stalk. The durable evaluation results proved the outstanding resistance to friction, long-term exposure in environment, high temperature, acidic and basic agents. The method suggested in this work provides a facile and efficient route to synthesize large-scale, durable, and mechanically stable superhydrophobic surface for water pollution control. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.