A Friendly UV-Responsive Fluorine-Free Superhydrophobic Coating for Oil-Water Separation and Dye Degradation

Due to increasing environmental pollution, benign responsive materials are of great importance in the field of oil/water separation. Here, a fluoride-free UV-responsive material for oil/water separation material and dye degradation was prepared. Environmentally friendly and low cost cellulose, silicon dioxide (SiO2), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and stearic acid (SA) were used to fabricate the superhydrophobic coating. The coated cotton fabric can be obtained by simple dip-coating, and its wettability can transition from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic under UV irradiation. The responsive surface of the coated cotton fabric can be applied for the effective separation of heavy or light oil/water mixtures, water-in-oil emulsions and oil-in-water emulsions. In addition, the UV-responsive coated cotton fabric can realize the degradation of methyl blue after UV irradiation, which may provide a new prospect for the development of intelligent materials.