Durably superhydrophobic textile based on fly ash coating for oil/water separation and selective oil removal from water

• Superhydrophobic textile was fabricated by deposition of fly ash and subsequent hydrophobization.
• There is strong interfacial interactions between fly ash and textile surface.
• Superhydrophobic textile displayed outstanding separation efficiency, chemical durability, and recyclability.
• Superhydrophobic textile can be used for the separation of oil/water mixtures.

Fly ash as an industrial solid waste can pose great risks to the environment. In the present study, superhydrophobic cotton textile for oil/water separation was developed based on the formation of fly ash coating and subsequent hydrophobization. The hierarchical fly ash coating immobilized exhibited superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 152°. The as-prepared textile can effectively separate a series of oil/water mixtures with high separation efficiency up to 97.3%. Furthermore, the obtained textile can be used under acidic, alkaline, salty, and ultraviolet irradiation conditions. After sixteen cycles of oil/water separation, the textiles still maintained stable superhydrophobicity and high separation efficiency. Owning to good environmental friendliness, low cost, high separation efficiency, and excellent durability and recyclability, the as-prepared textile may be a promising candidate for the separation of oil/water mixtures.

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