The presence of oil-related contaminants in water has emerged as a severe threat to the environment. The separation of these contaminants from water has become a great challenge, and extensive efforts are being made to develop suitable, environmentally friendly materials. Highly hydrophobic materials are effective in the selective separation of oil from water. In this work, silver (Ag)-incorporated, highly hydrophobic dopamine-modified cellulose sponge was prepared by functionalizing with the range of alkyl silanes. The Ag nanoparticle-incorporated dopamine provided the appropriate roughness, whereas the alkyl component provided the low surface energy that made it selective towards oil. It was found that the alkyl groups with a longer chain length were more effective in enhancing the hydrophobicity of the Ag nanoparticle-incorporated, dopamine-modified cellulose. The developed materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, and contact angle goniometry. The maximum water contact angle on the functionalized surfaces was observed at 148.4°. The surface of the C18s-Ag-DA-Cell-F showed excellent selectivity towards the oily component that rapidly permeated, and water was rejected wholly. The developed material showed a separation efficiency of 96.2% for the oil/water mixture. The C18s-Ag-DA-Cell-F material showed excellent reusability. Due to their environmentally friendly nature, excellent selectivity, and good separation efficiency, the functionalized cellulose materials can be used to separate oil and water effectively.
Keywords: environment; nanoparticles; oil pollution; polymers; separation; water.