Facile Fabrication of Flame-retardant SiO2/APP@PDMS Fabric with Superhydrophobicity for Highly Efficient Oil/Water Separation

Flame-retardant SiO2/APP@PDMS fabric with superhydrophobicity was prepared via ultrasound-assisted sol-gel method and dip-coatings, in which cotton fabric was substantially decorated with amino functionalized SiO2 (SiO2-NH2), ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The surface morphology, element composition and functional groups were examined by SEM, EDS and ATR-FTIR, respectively. The SiO2/APP@PDMS fabric exhibited self-cleaning property to the solid and liquids with water contact angle (WCA) around 154°, and showed high separation efficiency for n-dodecane (98.5 %) and n-hexane (96 %), which maintained stable after 10 separation cycles. Furthermore, the SiO2/APP@PDMS fabric presented a lower mass loss rate from TGA curve, indicating the improved thermal stability. The synergistic effect of PDMS and APP resulted in the excellent flame-retardant property of the SiO2/APP@PDMS fabric, during which the dense intumescent char layer formed and the fabric extinguished immediately. The SiO2/APP@PDMS fabric with facile fabrication process exhibited potential applications for both oil/water separation and flame-retardant areas.