A sustainable superhydrophobic paper enabled by CD-MOF/PDMS synergistic engineering for highly efficient oil/water separation

Traditional oil/water separation materials are greatly limited by poor eco-friendly, high energy consumption, and tedious preparation process. To address these issues, a sustainable superhydrophobic paper-based material (PDMS-CP@γ-CD-MOF) was developed through synergistic modification of cellulose paper sourced from wheat straw. A rough structure on the superhydrophobic paper was created by in-situ growth of γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (γ-CD-MOF), and the surface energy was controlled via polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating. The resulting superhydrophobic paper displayed appropriate mechanical strength, excellent superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning ability. Notably, gravity-driven separation of various oil/water mixtures was achieved with efficiencies over 97 % and flux rates reaching up to 382–603 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ . Moreover, the superhydrophobic paper demonstrated excellent reusability, maintaining a separation efficiency above 98 % after 10 cycles, which indicates promising potential for treating oily industrial wastewater.