Robust and Durable Superhydrophobic Polyurethane Sponge for Oil/Water Separation

With the purpose of purging and recycling oil and organic solvent from a water surface, a superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge was fabricated through a combined method of interfacial polymerization (IP) and molecular self-assembly. The as-prepared sponge has a superwetting characteristic of superlipophilicity in atmosphere and superhydrophobicity both in atmosphere and under oil, and it can quickly and selectively absorb various kinds of oils up to 29.9 times its own weight. More importantly, because of a covalent combination of the sponge skeleton and the polyamide thin film from IP, the superhydrophobic sponges could be reused for oil/water separation over 500 cycles without losing its superhydrophobicity, showing the highest reusability among the reported absorptive materials. The superhydrophobic sponge also can be used in the continuous absorption and expulsion of oils and organic solvents from water surfaces with the help of a vacuum pump. All of these features make the sponge a promising candidate material for oil-spill cleanups

Robust and Durable Superhydrophobic Polyurethane Sponge for Oil/Water Separation

With the purpose of purging and recycling oil and organic solvent from a water surface, a superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge was fabricated through a combined method of interfacial polymerization (IP) and molecular self-assembly. The as-prepared sponge has a superwetting characteristic of superlipophilicity in atmosphere and superhydrophobicity both in atmosphere and under oil, and it can quickly and selectively absorb various kinds of oils up to 29.9 times its own weight. More importantly, because of a covalent combination of the sponge skeleton and the polyamide thin film from IP, the superhydrophobic sponges could be reused for oil/water separation over 500 cycles without losing its superhydrophobicity, showing the highest reusability among the reported absorptive materials. The superhydrophobic sponge also can be used in the continuous absorption and expulsion of oils and organic solvents from water surfaces with the help of a vacuum pump. All of these features make the sponge a promising candidate material for oil-spill cleanups

Robust and Durable Superhydrophobic Polyurethane Sponge for Oil/Water Separation

With the purpose of purging and recycling oil and organic solvent from a water surface, a superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge was fabricated through a combined method of interfacial polymerization (IP) and molecular self-assembly. The as-prepared sponge has a superwetting characteristic of superlipophilicity in atmosphere and superhydrophobicity both in atmosphere and under oil, and it can quickly and selectively absorb various kinds of oils up to 29.9 times its own weight. More importantly, because of a covalent combination of the sponge skeleton and the polyamide thin film from IP, the superhydrophobic sponges could be reused for oil/water separation over 500 cycles without losing its superhydrophobicity, showing the highest reusability among the reported absorptive materials. The superhydrophobic sponge also can be used in the continuous absorption and expulsion of oils and organic solvents from water surfaces with the help of a vacuum pump. All of these features make the sponge a promising candidate material for oil-spill cleanups

Novel One-Step, in Situ Thermal Polymerization Fabrication of Robust Superhydrophobic Mesh for Efficient Oil/Water Separation

In this work, a brand new one-step in situ thermal polymerization (ISTP) preparation of highly stable polymer-coated superhydrophobic materials has been reported. On the basis of the thermal initiation and nonvolatility of an ionic liquid (IL) precursor, robust polymeric layer could be in situ generated and coated to meshes under air atmosphere, while the anchored nanoparticles could provide hierarchical micro/nanostructure. An “oxidative crosslinking” effect was found, and the possible mechanism was proposed. As expected, the obtained mesh exhibited superhydrophobicity with water CA of 158° and superoleophilicity with oil CA of 0°. Besides, the mesh showed self-cleaning effect with a low sliding angle. As for application evaluation, the mesh could act as a filter for the highly efficient separation of a series of oil–water mixtures. More importantly, the mesh exhibited excellent stability and durability toward ultrasonic, abrasion treatment, long-term storage, and even under strongly acidic, alkaline, and saline environment conditions. In summary, this work provided a novel, facile, and scalable method in the fabrication of superhydrophobic surface