Fabrication of hydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric based on thiol–ene click reaction for oil/water separation

A hydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric was prepared based on thiol–ene click reaction. The preparation method was simple, which consists of only two steps. Firstly, self-assembly of 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane (MPTES) to modify cotton fabric, and then octadecyl methacrylate was further grafted on the cotton fabric surface to generate low surface free energy. The chemical structure, surface topography and wettability were characterized. The results showed the as-prepared fabric possessed hydrophobic/oleophilic properties with a water contact angle (WCA) of 150.1°, and oil contact angle (OCA) was close to 0°. In addition, it had good hydrophobic property even if after 600 cycles of friction test. Meanwhile, the as-prepared fabric could separate various types of oil/water mixtures, and these separation efficiencies were better than 94% on average. It created a new method to prepare oil/water separation fabric, which will be used in practical applications.