Fabrication of a robust superhydrophobic polyurethane sponge for oil–water separation

Abstract

In this study, a robust superhydrophobic ZnO microparticle coating was applied to the surface of a polyurethane sponge through a simple solvothermal and chemical vapour deposition method. The thickly hierarchical ZnO microparticle and the long chain alkyl of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane make the sponge exhibit excellent superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity. By combining excellent superwetting characteristics and a larger surface area, the resulting sponges exhibited high oil-absorption capacity and selectivity for oilwater separation. The durability of the sponge was investigated by two methods, one is ultrasonication in acetone and hexane, the other is anti-resistance in acid and alkali solution. Reusability was tested by repeated absorption-desorption processes. Owing to the good adhesion between the coating and the sponge, the as-prepared sponge shows high durability and reusability. Moreover, the sponge can degrade toxic methylene blue under ultraviolet light irradiation. Therefore, this paper offers a simple and low-cost strategy for the fabrication of absorption materials.

Thermally stable and superhydrophobic foam prepared by high‐internal phase emulsion for oil/water separation with good recycling capacity

“…The average value of oil adsorption capability of the PSDF/PZS‐10% toward crude oil, edible oil, petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and toluene were 25.6–53.4 times of its own mass. The oil adsorption capacity was improved compared to other studies 23,51 . This indicated that the material has a good saturation adsorption capacity.…”

Recent Advances in Multifunctional Mechanical–Chemical Superhydrophobic Materials

“…Sponges ( Zhu et al, 2013 ; Cheng et al, 2019a ; Dong et al, 2020 ), textiles ( Luo et al, 2021 ; Zhou et al, 2021 ), foamed nickel ( Hu et al, 2017 ; Eum et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), and other materials ( Hou Y. et al, 2015 ) with multiple layers and porous ( Figure 2B ), due to their large specific surface area, even if part of the material surface is rubbed off, the material still remains, so it has abrasion resistance and is an excellent superhydrophobic material. Superhydrophobic textiles ( Luo et al, 2021 ) are manufactured by decorating the textiles modified by polydopamine (PDA) with MXene (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) and then coating with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).…”

Novel Method for Producing Oleophilic Polyurethane Foam to Remove Oil from Open Water

“…Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and polystyrene (PS) brushes were attached on the PU foam skeleton surface by means of ultrasonic dip-coating and self-initiated photo-grafting and photo-polymerization. In addition, hydrophobic nanomaterials, such as graphene, nano-zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, nano-diamond, and hydrophobic silicon dioxide have been used for foam modification [44,46,[52][53][54][55][56].…”