A new and straightforward single-step route to decorate melamine foams with silver nanoparticles (ME/Ag) is proposed. Uniform coatings of silver nanoparticles with diameters less than 10 nm are formed in situ directly on the struts surface of the foams, after their dipping in an AgNO solution. We prove that the nanoparticles are stably adhered on the foams, and that their amount can be directly controlled by the concentration of the AgNO solution and the dipping time. Following this production route, ME/Ag foams can be obtained with silver content ranging between 0.2 and 18.6 wt % and excellent antibacterial performance, making them appropriate for various applications. Herein we explore the possibility to use them as antibacterial filters for water treatment, proving that they are able to remove completely Escherichia coli bacteria from water when filtered at flow rates up to 100 mL/h·cm due to the release of less than 1 ppm of Ag ions by the foams. No bacterial regrowth was observed after further dilution of the treated water, to arrive below the safety threshold of Ag for drinking water (0.1 ppm), demonstrating the excellent bactericide performance of the ME/Ag filters.

PMMA-based magnetic nanocomposite fibrous mats reach oil absorption efficiencies up to 90% in water–oil stable emulsions.

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Nanocellular polymers (i.e., cellular polymers with cells and walls in the nanometric range) were first produced in the early 2000s, with the works of [...]

Superhydrophobic and oleophilic polyurethane foams were obtained by spray-coating their surfaces with solutions of thermoplastic polyurethane and hydrophobic silicon oxide nanoparticles. The developed functionalized foams were exploited as reusable oil absorbents from stable water-in-oil emulsions. These foams were able to remove oil efficiently from a wide range of emulsions with oil contents from 10 to 80 v.%, stabilized using Span80. The modified foams could reach oil absorption capacities up to 29 g/g, becoming a suitable candidate for water-in-oil stable emulsions separation.

No abstract

Fibrous mats with hydrophobic and oleophilic properties have been fabricated and used as absorbents of oil from stable water in oil emulsions.

A new and straightforward route to produce polymeric hollow microfibers is proposed. Polycaprolactone (PCL) hollow fibers are obtained for the first time by an environmentally friendly gas dissolution foaming approach,...