Facile Preparation and Characterization of Modified Polyurethane Sponge for Oil Absorption

Oil spills have devastating effects on the environment. Utilization of absorbents for oil spill cleanup has been practiced; however, the development of cheap, reliable, environmentally friendly absorbents is both desirable and urgent. In this study, we illustrate a novel oil absorbent fabricated by modifying polyurethane (PU) sponges with TiO2 sol. The attachment of TiO2 nanoparticles reduced the hydrophilicity of the modified PU sponge significantly by increasing its surface roughness and changing the chemical composition of the surface. The modified PU sponges exhibited oil absorption capacity of 95–110 g/g with negligible water uptake under both static and dynamic conditions. The modified PU sponge was found to be reusable up to 12 cycles holding 70% of its initial uptake capacity. The modified PU sponges can be effectively used in oil spill cleanup

Sacrificial Template Synthesis and Photothermal Conversion Enhancements of Hierarchical and Hollow CuInS₂ Microspheres

Hierarchical and hollow CuInS₂ microspheres are synthesized on the basis of sacrificial templates with solid and hollow CuS microspheres as sacrificial templates, respectively. Transformations from CuS solid microspheres to CuInS₂ hierarchical microspheres and CuS hollow microspheres to CuInS₂ hollow microspheres can be achieved by a solvothermal process at 180 °C for 24 h with <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-dimethylformamide as both solvent and reductant. The products are well characterized, and the formation mechanisms are proposed. The as-synthesized products have strong optical absorption from 1000 to 2000 nm in addition to normal absorption from 400 to 800 nm, which has not be reported in the literature. The as-synthesized products exhibit a significant photothermal conversion effect under an irradiation of a 1064 nm laser. At a laser power of 0.05 W·cm^–2, up to 30% and 20% enhancement of photothermal conversion is observed in the aqueous suspension containing 0.1 wt % CuInS₂ hollow microspheres and hierarchical microspheres, respectively. The mechanisms for the enhancements of photothermal conversion in the as-synthesized products are also discussed

Facile Preparation and Characterization of Modified Polyurethane Sponge for Oil Absorption

Oil spills have devastating effects on the environment. Utilization of absorbents for oil spill cleanup has been practiced; however, the development of cheap, reliable, environmentally friendly absorbents is both desirable and urgent. In this study, we illustrate a novel oil absorbent fabricated by modifying polyurethane (PU) sponges with TiO₂ sol. The attachment of TiO₂ nanoparticles reduced the hydrophilicity of the modified PU sponge significantly by increasing its surface roughness and changing the chemical composition of the surface. The modified PU sponges exhibited oil absorption capacity of 95–110 g/g with negligible water uptake under both static and dynamic conditions. The modified PU sponge was found to be reusable up to 12 cycles holding 70% of its initial uptake capacity. The modified PU sponges can be effectively used in oil spill cleanup

Facile Preparation and Characterization of Modified Polyurethane Sponge for Oil Absorption

Oil spills have devastating effects on the environment. Utilization of absorbents for oil spill cleanup has been practiced; however, the development of cheap, reliable, environmentally friendly absorbents is both desirable and urgent. In this study, we illustrate a novel oil absorbent fabricated by modifying polyurethane (PU) sponges with TiO₂ sol. The attachment of TiO₂ nanoparticles reduced the hydrophilicity of the modified PU sponge significantly by increasing its surface roughness and changing the chemical composition of the surface. The modified PU sponges exhibited oil absorption capacity of 95–110 g/g with negligible water uptake under both static and dynamic conditions. The modified PU sponge was found to be reusable up to 12 cycles holding 70% of its initial uptake capacity. The modified PU sponges can be effectively used in oil spill cleanup

Facile Preparation and Characterization of Modified Polyurethane Sponge for Oil Absorption

Oil spills have devastating effects on the environment. Utilization of absorbents for oil spill cleanup has been practiced; however, the development of cheap, reliable, environmentally friendly absorbents is both desirable and urgent. In this study, we illustrate a novel oil absorbent fabricated by modifying polyurethane (PU) sponges with TiO₂ sol. The attachment of TiO₂ nanoparticles reduced the hydrophilicity of the modified PU sponge significantly by increasing its surface roughness and changing the chemical composition of the surface. The modified PU sponges exhibited oil absorption capacity of 95–110 g/g with negligible water uptake under both static and dynamic conditions. The modified PU sponge was found to be reusable up to 12 cycles holding 70% of its initial uptake capacity. The modified PU sponges can be effectively used in oil spill cleanup