Attapulgite as a skeleton for the fabrication of magnetic structural-functional materials with a superhydrophobic shell

Abstract

The development of structural-functional materials endowed with unique features has shown great potential in a wide variety of fields, and the corresponding exploration of their diverse applications is highly desirable for their practical use. Herein, we present a facile strategy for the fabrication of magnetic structural-functional materials with superhydrophobicity using ATP (attapulgite) as a skeleton. Various characterization results revealed that the prepared magnetic ATP nanocomposites including mFe/ATP@Sh (magnetic ATP with a shell containing mercapto groups) with the thickest superhydrophobic silicone polymer shell behaved as a “protective barrier” to cover in the framework of magnetic ATP. Owing to the strong hydrophobicity and excellent magnetic responsivity of this architecture, it provides an excellent structural platform for diverse applications. Therefore, magnetic ATP nanocomposites were tested for various applications such as adsorbent for nitrobenzene, superhydrophobic coating and water/oil separation. Accordingly, mFe/ATP@Sh exhibited a good magnetic separation performance and superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity, thus displaying high uptake toward nitrobenzene in the aqueous phase and easy separation by an external magnet after multiple cycles. Furthermore, the mFe/ATP@Sh-PDMS coating exhibited superhydrophobicity on different substrates, good mechanical properties in artificial rain tests and good resistance and stability to harsh environments. Especially, the mFe/ATP@Sh sheet with chemical stability and good magnetism exhibited excellent separation stability (>99%) for oil/water mixtures over a wide pH range and extraordinary reusability without the material particle shedding. This work not only provides a general strategy for the fabrication of structural-functional materials using attapulgite, but may open up a new door for environmental-related and diverse applications.