Biobased mussel-inspired underwater superoleophobic chitosan derived complex hydrogel coated cotton fabric for oil/water separation.

Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic materials exhibit excellent oil/water separation performance but are usually fabricated from nonrenewable and nondegradable feedstocks and thus would cause secondary pollution after use. Herein, we report a fully biobased and mussel-inspired underwater superoleophobic hydrogel coated cotton fabric (CF) prepared by surface coating and subsequent oxidation polymerization of chitosan & dopamine mixtures. The obtained chitosan & polydopamine hydrogel coated CF (CS&PDA/CF) showed superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, due to the formed rough surface structure with hydrophilic complex hydrogel.