Fabrication of superhydrophobic sponge with hierarchical structure and application for oil/water separation. Issue 12 (2nd December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meng, Xu; Zhan, Haihua; Xi, Bojun; Li, Xuming; Zhou, Xiaojie; Deng, Qiuping; Liang, Liping
• Is Part Of: Journal of macromolecular science. Volume 54:Issue 12(2017)
• Page Start: 877
• Page End: 884
• Publication Date: 2017-12-02
• Subjects: Mussel-inspired chemistry -- superhydrophobic -- lipophilic -- oil/water separation -- bioinspiration; Polymers -- Periodicals; Polymerization -- Periodicals; 547.7
• DOI: 10.1080/10601325.2017.1332465
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1060-1325

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Oil/water separation polyurethane sponge with hierarchically structured surface similar to the chemical/topological structures of lotus leaf has been successfully developed by combining mussel-inspired one-step copolymerization approach. The chemical structure, surface topography, and surface wettability of the sponge were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and contact angle experiments, respectively. The results showed that as-prepared sponge exhibited high oil absorption rate because of the expansion in oil and collapse in water of the polymer molecular brushes. Meanwhile, it also possessed high absorption capacity (20 times of the self-weight), high oil retention (93.7%), and good recyclability. It had excellent potential in practical applications.