Flame Retardant and Conductive Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric with Excellent Electrothermal Property for Efficient Crude-Oil/Water Mixture Separation and Fast Deicing

Fabrics have been widely used in the fields of oil-water separation and deicing in recent years. Considering that the fabric is deeply affected by accidental fires, a flame retardant and conductive superhydrophobic cotton fabric with excellent electrothermal property cotton fabric containing Phytic acid/3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (PA/APTES), carbon nanotube (CNT), and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is developed. The peak heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release (THR) values of PA/APTES/CNTs/PDMS-coated fabric significantly declines by 63% and 76%, respectively, when compared to pristine cotton fabrics. Moreover, the heating uniformity on the PA/APTES/CNTs/PDMS-coated fabric surface is validated by infrared thermography technology. Surprisingly, the CNTs layer also endow the coated fabric with excellent electrothermal capability, with its surface temperature rapidly rising from 22.8 to 500.7 degrees C within 10 s at a voltage of 25 V. Employing the generated Joule heat, the PA/APTES/CNTs/PDMS-coated fabric can successfully separate crude oil and water, and the separation efficiency is much higher than that without voltage, about 9.5 times higher. In addition, the coated fabric also has excellent deicing performance. The ice cube with a volume of 12 cm(3) is completely melted within 1380 s under 15 V voltage.