Hydrogel-coated basalt fibre with superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic performance for oil-water separation

Materials with controlled surface properties show great potential for various applications. In this paper, we reported a method to prepare a superhydrophilic fabric consisting of basalt fibre (BF) and konjac glucomannan (KGM). Different techniques were employed to study the morphology and surface information of the developed materials. The results showed that the KGM was deacetylated to form a hydrogel when processed in an alkali condition, and the excellent film-forming performance of the hydrogel led to the formation of a coating layer on BF fabric. The coating endowed the developed fabric with enhanced mechanical performance and superhydrophilicity in air condition. Interestingly, the material, subjected to a water condition, exhibited a stable superoleophobicity as confirmed by the extremely low adhesion to oil and remarkable resistance to the corrosive liquids, thus holding the promise to be a suitable candidate for separating various oil-water mixtures.