Superhydrophobic attapulgite-based films for the selective separation of oils and organic solvents from water

Abstract

Superwetting inorganic membranes or films have recently attracted considerable interest for the separation of oils or organics from water. In this work, attapulgite (ATP)-based films consisting mostly of ATP nano-crystals and cellulose fibers from wastepaper were fabricated by a suspension casting method. The as-synthesized ATP-based films exhibited good structural flexibility and tensile ability with σ_κ values of up to 6.14 MPa. After modification with PDMS, the surface wettability of the ATP-based films was tailored from being amphipathic to being superhydrophobic toward water and superoleophilic toward oils. Taking advantage of the simple fabrication, high mechanical stability and low cost, such superhydrophobic and superoleophilic ATP-based films could be used for the efficient separation of oily or organic contaminants from water and show great potential in such applications as purification, separation, oil spill cleanups and so on.