Twofold bioinspiration of TiO₂-PDA hybrid fabrics with desirable robustness and remarkable polar/nonpolar liquid separation performance

Abstract

The fundamental relationship between microstructure, constituent, processing and performances of separating materials is really a vital issue. Traditional preparation methods for separation membranes are complex, time-consuming and easy to be fouled. Also, the durability of conventional coatings on membrane is poor. By combination of bioinspiration from mussel adhesive and fish scales’ underwater superoleophobicity, we propose a general route to prepare organic–inorganic hybrid coatings, while no complex apparatus is needed. Specifically, based on the biomimetic adhesion of polydopamine (PDA), we used it as a binder to adhere TiO₂ nanoparticles and built rough microstructure on fabric. In this way, we obtained TiO₂-PDA treated fabric with special wettability. These TiO₂-PDA treated samples owned superamphiphilicity in air, underwater superoleophobicity (underwater oil contact angles (OCAs)>150°), underoil superhydrophobicity (underoil water contact angles (WCAs)>150°), excellent multi-resistance; and can separate polar/nonpolar liquid mixture effectively. It also owned superaerophobicity underwater (underwater bubble contact angles (BCAs)>150°). The proposed TiO₂-PDA coatings are highly expected to be employed for real situation of water pollution remediation, self-cleaning, oil extraction and harsh chemical engineering issues.

Keywords

polydopamine / TiO ₂-PDA fabric / polar/nonpolar separation / underwater superoleophobicity / superamphiphilicity

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