A facile method to mussel-inspired superhydrophobic thiol-textiles@polydopamine for oil/water separation

Due to the poor mechanical stability, the practical applications of superhydrophobic materials are limited. Inspired by the excellent adhesion of polydopamine (PDA), a kind of superhydrophobic coating is successfully fabricated on the textile. Herein, under weak acidic conditions (pH = 5.0), sodium periodate is selected as oxidant and the concentration of dopamine is controlled at 8 mg/mL, which leads to the fast and homogeneous deposition of PDA nanoaggregates on the pristine textile. Subsequently, the nanoaggregates are modified by octadecyl thiol. The PDA nanoaggregates work as a stable bond between the pristine textile and hydrophobic groups introduced from thiol, which contributes to the mechanical stability of the superhydrophobic textile. In addition, the superhydrophobic textiles display resistance to acetone, UV irradiation, and hot water. Significantly, the textiles can be used for oil/water separation with flux around 4500 Lm(-2) h(-1) and the separation efficiency more than 97%. These advantages provide the superhydrophobic textiles with multiple applications.