Fabrication of Cu species functionalized cotton fabric with oil/water separating reusability by in-situ reduction process

Cu species (Cu/Cu2O/CuO NPs) functionalized fabric (Cu-fabric) with superhydrophobicity was fabricated through a simple in-situ reduction from Cu(OH)2-coated-fabric and an immersion process in n-octadecathiol (ODT) solution, in which cotton fabric served as bio-support material to immobilize Cu2+ in the presence of NH3·H2O. The surface morphology, elements composition, elements valance state and functional groups were detected by SEM, EDS, XPS and ATR-FTIR, respectively, and a formation mechanism of the Cu-fabric was proposed. The as-prepared Cu-fabric showed superhydrophobicity to deionized water, with a water contact angle (WCA) about 153.5 and a sliding angle (SA) about 10, and good hydrophobicity to other common household liquids. In addition, the Cu-fabric maintained chemical stability after 72 h under different extreme conditions, and mechanical durability after 200 cm of abrasion length. Furthermore, the separation efficiency of light oil/water mixtures with Cu-fabric exceeded 97% for n-dodecane, n-hexane, kerosene, cyclohexane and n-heptane and Cu-fabric maintained a high separation efficiency for n-dodecane and n-hexane after 30 separation cycles. The as-prepared Cu-fabric exhibited potential for practical application in oil/water separation of oil-contaminated industrial sewage in complicated environments.