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Effective removal of oils from water is of global significance for environmental protection. In this study, we investigate the hydrophobicity and oleophilicity of open-cell polymer foams prepared in a continuous and scalable extrusion process. The material used to prepare the open-cell foams is a fibrillar blend of polypropylene (PP) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the morphology of the PP/PTFE fibrillar blend reveal that the PTFE has a fibrillar morphology in the PP matrix. SEM micrograph of the extruded foam shows the formation of an interconnected open-cell structure. Using nitrogen pycnometry, the open-cell content is estimated to be 97.7%. A typical bulk density of the open-cell foam is measured to be about 0.07 g cm(-3) corresponding to a void fraction of 92%. Thus, a large three-dimensional space is made available for oil storage. A drop of water on the cross-section of the extruded open-cell foam forms a contact angle of 160° suggesting that the open-cell foam exhibits superhydrophobicity. The open-cell foam can selectively absorb various petroleum products, such as octane, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, light crude oil, and heavy crude oil from water and the uptake capacities range from about 5 to 24 g g(-1). The uptake kinetics can be enhanced by exposing the open-cell foam to high intensity ultrasound which increases the surface porosity of the thin, impervious, foam "skin" layer. The reusability of the foam can be improved by using a matrix polymer which demonstrates superior elastic properties and prevents the foams from undergoing a large permanent deformation upon compression to "squeeze out" the oil. For example, when the PP homopolymer matrix is replaced with a PP random copolymer, the permanent deformation for 10 compressive cycles is reduced from about 30% to 10%. To the best of our knowledge, these PP-based open-cell foams outperform PP-based absorbents conventionally used for oil-spill cleanup applications such as nonwoven PP fibers or melt-blown PP pads.

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The requirement of energy efficiency demands materials with superior thermal insulation properties. Inorganic aerogels are excellent thermal insulators, but are difficult to produce on a large-scale, are mechanically brittle, and their structural properties depend strongly on their density. Here, we report the scalable generation of low-density, hierarchically porous, polypropylene foams using industrial-scale foam-processing equipment, with thermal conductivity lower than that of commercially available high-performance thermal insulators such as superinsulating Styrofoam. The reduction in thermal conductivity is attributed to the restriction of air flow caused by the porous nanostructure in the cell walls of the foam. In contrast to inorganic aerogels, the mechanical properties of the foams are less sensitive to density, suggesting efficient load transfer through the skeletal structure. The scalable fabrication of hierarchically porous polymer foams opens up new perspectives for the scalable design and development of novel superinsulating materials.

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