Click-based Chemical Modification of Cotton Fabric and Its Oil/Water Separation Application

Abstract

The cotton fabric is esterified with a carboxylic acid (4-azidobenzoic acid) having an azide group to obtain a cotton fabric with an azide group on the surface. Then, the hydrophobic group-containing substance (1-heptyne) was modified on the surface of the cotton fabric through click chemistry, and a cotton fabric with super-hydrophobic and super-lipophilic properties was prepared. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), thermogravimetric/differential thermal analyzer (TG), and contact angle measuring instrument were used to characterize the surface morphology and hydrophobicity of the cotton fabric. The effect of pore size on the efficiency of oil-water separation was explored. The results show that the prepared cotton fabric has super-hydrophobic and super-lipophilic properties with a contact angle of up to 154.1°, and it has been successfully applied to oil/water separation. Even for different oil/water mixtures, the separation efficiency was better than 94% on average. The large pore size is beneficial to improve the efficiency of oil-water separation.

Keywords

• cotton fabric
• functional fabric
• environment
• natural fibers
• oil/water separation
• fabric modification