Photo-initiated polymer brush grafting and multi-stage assembly of hydrophobic oil-absorbing self-cleaning cotton fabrics for acidic and alkaline environments

•Four types of self-cleaning cotton fabrics with grafted polymer brush were synthesized.•Modified cottons showed good oil water separation performance with superhydrophobicity.•A good separation efficiency of up to 99.9% for many oils were studied.•Excellent acid and base resistance in oil adsorption with high recyclability.