Etching‐Assisted Preparation of Durable Self‐Repairing Cotton Fabric Superhydrophobic Material for Oil–Water Separation Performance Exploration

Superhydrophobic textiles have great application prospects in the field of oil–water separation due to their advantages of low‐carbon environmental protection, good flexibility, and a wide range of use. However, their surface durability and stability are poor in practical applications. Therefore, herein, hydrophobic‐modified lightweight magnesium carbonate (HLMC) is firmly adhered to the etched cotton fiber surface through the adhesion of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and a durable self‐repairing HLMC/PDMS/cotton fabric superhydrophobic material is prepared. Research shows that HLMC/PDMS/cotton fabrics exhibit excellent self‐cleaning performance and still maintain good superhydrophobicity even after being soaked in strong acids, strong alkalis, and simulated seawater for 24 h or stored for 6 months. Interestingly, simply heating the worn surface could achieve nine times of superhydrophobic self‐repairing. More importantly, this material could achieve efficient separation of oil–water mixtures with different polarities and complex components, and its separation efficiency could still reach 99.65% after 10 cycles of separation. At the same time, this material has an oil flux that is dozens or even hundreds of times higher than similar reports. Therefore, the research results provide a reference research scheme for the modification research and oil–water separation performance research of high‐value‐added cotton fabrics.