Polydimethylsiloxane Sponges Incorporated with Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (PDMS/H-MSNs) and Their Selective Solvent Absorptions

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponges incorporated with hydrophobic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (PDMS/H-MSNs) were fabricated by a sugar templating method. Hydrophobicity of H-MSNs was achieved by heat treatment under an inert atmosphere. PDMS/H-MSNs had a progressively increased water contact angle with loading amounts of H-MSNs. The mechanical properties were improved upon incorporation of H-MSNs in PDMS sponges. Also, PDMS/H-MSNs sponges were resilient as indicated by a complete recovery to its original shape after 50 cycles of compression strain at 50%. PDMS/H-MSNs sponges were capable of selectively absorbing diesel oil and various organic solvents. The sponges had the ability to completely remove solvents either floating on a water surface or under water. PDMS/H-MSNs increasingly absorbed chloroform with increasing amounts of H-MSNs with its absorption capacity as high as 2000%. The reusability was tested with PDMS/20H-MSNs sponges by repeated adsorption–desorption of dichloromethane. The sponge can maintain its absorption capacities after 20 adsorption–desorption cycles.

Funnel-Shaped Floating Vessel Oil Skimmer with Joule Heating Sorption Functionality

“…The PCS mixture was used to fabricate sponge cubes consisting of CB dispersed within a PDMS matrix for material characterization. Several studies in the field attached nanoparticles to the surface of highly porous sponges to impart superhydrophobic or multi-functional properties like magnetism [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, van der Waals forces between nanofillers and PDMS are relatively weak [ 29 ], and dip-coating and other nanoparticle attachment methods were deemed difficult to implement on the large-scale sponge funnel, therefore it was not explored in this study.…”

Microporous Graphite Composites of Tailorable Porosity, Surface Wettability, and Water Permeability for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates

“…Amnuaypanich and co-workers used porous sugar cubes as templates for preparing porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponges. 34 In their approach, a solution of the polymer, the cross-linker, and the catalyst was poured on the sugar cubes, and the sugar cubes soaked with this solution were thermally cured to form the PDMS network. Then, the sugar template was dissolved in water, leaving behind the porous PDMS gel.…”

“…The use of sacrificial porogen is a highly promising method of introducing porosity in materials. Amnuaypanich and co-workers used porous sugar cubes as templates for preparing porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponges . In their approach, a solution of the polymer, the cross-linker, and the catalyst was poured on the sugar cubes, and the sugar cubes soaked with this solution were thermally cured to form the PDMS network.…”

Organic dyes supported on silicon-based materials: synthesis and applications as photocatalysts

“…The traditional porogens used are sodium chloride, sugar, sodium bicarbonate, and ammonium bicarbonate. [136][137][138] The composition of Sylgard 184 is unclear, but according to Wolf et al, Sylgard 184 has two components: (1) PDMS prepolymer (dimethylsiloxane oligomers with vinyl end groups (>60%), silica filler (dimethylvinylated and trimethylated silica, 30-60%), tetra (trimethylsiloxy) silane (1-5%) and ethylbenzene (<1%), and a platinum catalyst), and (2) a curing agent (cross-linking agent (dimethyl methylhydrogen siloxane, 40-70%) with an inhibitor (tetramethyl tetravinyl cyclotetrasiloxane 1-5%)). 139 In brief, the synthesis of PDMS sponge by DTT follows these steps: (1) Sylgard 184 (10 : 1 by weight) makes contact with the porogen, then the system is degassed in a vacuum chamber to assist the infiltration of Sylgard 184 into the voids of the cubes of the porogen; this step typically takes about 6 h. (2) After infiltration, the PDMS-porogen cube is cured in an oven between 80 and 120 °C.…”