Preparation of Porous
Polysulfone Microspheres and Their Application in Removal of Oil from
Water
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Abstract
The monodisperse porous polysulfone (PSF) microspheres
with hollow core/porous shell structure were prepared by a water-in-oil-in-water
(W/O/W) emulsion solvent evaporation method. The morphology of PSF
is investigated by using three different surfactants such as oleic
acid, polyvinylpyrrolidone and polyoxyethylen(20)-sorbitanmonooleat.
The prepared microspheres are developed as sorbents to remove oil
from water due to their highly hydrophobic and superoleophilic properties.
The PSF microspheres synthesized in the presence of oleic acid exhibit
the best separation efficiency, which is 44.8 times higher than that
of the pristine PSF powder. The microspheres with appropriate size,
unsinkable properties, and excellent reproducibility can be quickly
distributed and collected in seconds on the surface of water. The
pore structure of PSF microspheres and interaction between oil and
PSF are proposed to explain the high efficiency