Comparison of Using Electrospun Polystyrene, Polysulfone, and Polyvinylidene Fluoride Mixed with N, N-Dimethylformamide on Oil Sorption from Water

Abstract

Research on polymers has grown exponentially in the purpose of oil spill removal from the water surface. It is very important to take immediate action to remove the oil from the water surface to reduce worldwide oil pollution. Materials with high porosity and mostly, superhydrophobic and oleophilic natures are the best candidates for this purpose. In this research, the electrospinning method was used to synthesize the polystyrene (PS), polysulfone (PSF), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for the application of oil-spill removal. Different concentrations were used to produce electrospun fiber using N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF). Contact angle (CA) measurement was applied to justify the hydrophobicity of all the polymers. Based on the CA results, only one sample, 24%concentrations of polystyrene (PS-5) showed the highest water contact angle (WCA) and the value was above 150°. This means PS-5 is superhydrophobic. ASTM F726-12 standard and low viscous motor oil were used for the oil sorption test. Moreover, the oil sorption results were compared within all the polymers to identify the best polymer, and solvent concentration that can absorb oil the most. The highest oil absorption efficiency is 20.99g/g using 24% concentrations of PS (PS-5) electrospun fiber.