Efficient chemical etching procedure for the generation of superhydrophobic surfaces for separation of oil from water

Tawfik A. Saleh*, Nadeem Baig

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

74 Scopus citations

Abstract

The water pollution due to the oil spillage and the regular addition of organic contaminants from industrial wastewater has emerged as a major threat to the marine and human life. The generation of efficient superhydrophobic surfaces has received special attention to achieve efficient separation of the oil and organic contaminants from the water. Herein, a superhydrophobic surface was coated on stainless steel by using the facile 2 step process. In the first step, the surface roughness and the oxide functionalities were generated on the surface of the stainless steel by treating with the sulfuric acid. In the second step, it was functionalized with the octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTCS). The functionalized surface was confirmed by the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and the scanning electron microscopy. The functionalized stainless steel surfaces have displayed superhydrophobic and superoleophilic behavior. The water was strongly repelled by the surface whereas the non-polar organic component was rapidly spread on the surface. The superhydrophobic behavior was evident from its high water contact angle of 166.8˚. The developed superhydrophobic surface has displayed an excellent capability to separate the non-polar component from water. The separation efficiency was found more than 99% for the separation of various non-polar organic components from the water.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)27-32
Number of pages6
JournalProgress in Organic Coatings
Volume133
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

  • Environment
  • Functionalization
  • Organic contamination
  • Removal
  • Water pollution

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry

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