Solvent-free preparation of superhydrophobic and photocatalytic monoliths for water treatment applications

Celik, Nusret, Karagoz, Sultan, Sakir, Menekse, Yilmaz, Erkan, Genc, Aziz, Slater, Thomas J.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0372-1551 and Onses, Mustafa Serdar 2025. Solvent-free preparation of superhydrophobic and photocatalytic monoliths for water treatment applications. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 721 , 137227. 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2025.137227 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Sustainable and practical preparation of nanostructured materials with superhydrophobicity and photocatalytic activity remains a persistent challenge for a diverse range of applications including water treatment and self-cleaning surfaces. This study reports solvent-free mechanochemical grafting of polydimethylsiloxane to photocatalytic TiO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 21 nm and generation of a monolithic material with demonstrated use in adsorption and degradation of organic pollutants. The monolith exhibited bulk superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 172⁰ and sliding angle of 1⁰. At the same time, the monolith effectively degraded organic pollutants such as methylene blue, under UV light with 92 % efficiency in 7 h. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic monolith demonstrated effective sorption of hexane, toluene, sunflower oil and pump oil from water with efficiencies approaching 90 %. These findings demonstrate the promise of solvent-free mechanochemical processes in developing nanostructured materials for water treatment applications.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Chemistry Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff Catalysis Institute (CCI)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0927-7757
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	29 May 2025
Date of Acceptance:	14 May 2025
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2025 14:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178583

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