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.
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.
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