PVA-SiO₂ Composites Modified Cotton Fiber and Its Oil-Absorption Properties

Firstly,taking cotton fiber as the substrate,polyviny alcohol(PVA)-SiO₂ composites were coated onto the fiber surface via the one-step immersion.Then,the resulting fiber was modified to be hydrophobic.Finally,superhydrophobic oil-absorption material was obtained.The surface morphologic structure and wettability of coated fiber were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Water Contact Angle (WCA) analysis.Effects of PVA and SiO₂ nanoparticles mass fraction on oil-absorption property of the fiber were studied,and the hydrophobic property,wetting durability,oil-absorption rate,and reusability were also evaluated.Results indicate that cotton fiber modified by PVA-SiO₂ has stable superhydrophobicity and the oil absorbency of the coated fiber is significantly improved compared with that of raw fiber,with increase rates of 47%,18.6%,and 26.2% in oil absorbency for n-hexane,toluene,and chloroform,respectively.