Fabrication of Robust Superhydrophobic Te@C-TiO2 Nanocomposites Coating for Application in Oil/Water Separation

The main issue limiting the widespread application of superhydrophobic coatings is their low surface robustness, which is closely related to surface roughness on the micro-or nanoscale, and is mechanically weak and easily gets abraded. This work uses Te nanowires as templates to support a carbon layer substrate for the growth of titanium dioxide nanoparticles; this forms hierarchical structures (Te@C-TiO2 nanocomposites). Modifition with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2Hper uoroalkyltriethoxysilane created a free-standing superhydrophobic coating. The optimal preparation conditions for the coating were identifi after a systematic investigation of the reaction time of the carbon precursor and concentration of TiOSO4. The best anti-wetting performance was attained with 200 nm diameter Te@C and 15mL concentration of TiOSO4. Furthermore, due to their free-standing performance, the nanocomposites were easily loaded onto a polyester fabric to generate a robust superhydrophobic fabric. This fabric shows excellent mechanical durability and strong resistance to knife scratching, sandpaper abrasion, washing, as well as exposure to acid and alkali solutions. Moreover, the robust fabric is able to separate oil/water mixtures with high separation effincy.