A superhydrophobic/superoleophilic porous polycarbonate/carboxyl-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PC/cMWCNTs) monolith with novel hierarchical micronanostructure was facilely fabricated via a thermally impacted nonsolvent induced phase separation method. A novel porous microstructure endowed PC/cMWCNTs monolith had a high porosity of 90.1%. Based on excellent superhydrophobicity (water contact angle of 159°) and superoleophilicity (oil contact angle of 0°), this porous monolith could selectively adsorb various types of oils/organic solvents from the oil–water mixture. Additionally, the monolith exhibited outstanding oil/water separation performance including fast adsorption speed, high saturation capacity, and superior recycling ability. The equilibrium adsorption time and saturated adsorption capacity of soybean oil were 20 s and 12.62 g g–1, respectively. By simple centrifugation or evaporation, the recovered PC/cMWCNTs monolith could be reused for at least 10 cycles. Thus, porous PC/cMWCNTs monolith is a promising candidate for oil-polluted water treatment.

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A superelastic hierarchical porous thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) monolith with excellent hydrophobicity was facilely prepared by a thermally induced phase separation method with two cooling steps. The TPU monolith as an oil absorbent is capable to selectively absorb various oils/organic solvents from oil/water mixtures with high saturated absorption capacity (5.95–40.60 g g–1) and rapid absorption rate (achieving absorption equilibrium within 15 s). More importantly, the monolith exhibits remarkable superelasticity with large reversible compressibility and outstanding fatigue resistance (1500 cycles at 80% strain), allowing it to repetitively absorb oil via simple manual squeezing. Furthermore, the monolith possesses high tolerance and durability in a wide range of pH (2–12) and temperature (0–100 °C), even in a turbulent environment. The TPU monolith can also continuously absorb and remove oil/organic solvent from the water surface by a pump-assisted system. The above-mentioned advantages of a porous TPU monolith make it become a promising and sustainable candidate for water pollution treatment.