Facile in Situ Growth of Cu(OH)2 on Cotton Fabric for Oil/Water Separation

The construction of micro/nanohierarchical structures on cellulose-based materials to prepare membranes with special wettability has a promising application. Herein, a simple two-step preparation process, including immersion of the cotton fabric in the copper ammonia solution and drying, was used to grow copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)2) on/in the cotton fibers in a homogeneous reaction, avoiding severe agglomeration of Cu(OH)2 particles and endowing the fabric with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity. Driven by gravity, the prepared Cu(OH)2@cotton fabric could be used to separate different oil-water mixtures and oil-in-water emulsions as well as having good mechanical and chemical stability. This simple, low-cost, mass-applicable method offers new perspectives for designing the membrane with special wettability based on cotton fabrics, with promising applications.