Magnetic, self-heating and superhydrophobic sponge for solar-driven high-viscosity oil-water separation

Zhuangzhuang Chu; Yibin Feng; Tiantian Xu; Cuiping Zhu; Kunquan Li; Yongtao Li; Yu Yang; Zhuohong Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130553

Magnetic, self-heating and superhydrophobic sponge for solar-driven high-viscosity oil-water separation

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Mar 5:445:130553. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130553. Epub 2022 Dec 6.

Authors

Zhuangzhuang Chu¹, Yibin Feng², Tiantian Xu², Cuiping Zhu², Kunquan Li³, Yongtao Li⁴, Yu Yang⁵, Zhuohong Yang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
² Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, China.
⁴ College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. Electronic address: yongtao@scau.edu.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. Electronic address: yu.yang@scau.edu.cn.
⁶ Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; Jieyang Branch of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Jieyang 515200, China. Electronic address: yangzhuohong@scau.edu.cn.

PMID: 36495637
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130553

Abstract

In this work, a novel oil-adsorption sponge with superhydrophobicity was fabricated using polymer-assisted electroless deposition and dip-coating techniques for depositing a rough polydopamine layer, magnetic particles, and low surface energy polydimethylsiloxane onto the surface of a sponge skeleton. The as-prepared superhydrophobic sponge (WCA > 150° and SA < 5°) exhibited rapid adsorption behavior, large adsorption capacity (up to 50.6 times its own dry weight or above 90% of its own volume), excellent durability (above 80% of the adsorption capacity after 80 recycles), and a self-cleaning property owing to sufficient open-cell pores and superelasticity provided by the melamine-formaldehyde host as well as the hierarchical roughness and convenient magnetic recovery enabled by the polymer-assisted electroless deposition approach. The pump-, gravity-, and solar-driven oil-water separation devices based on the fabricated cubic composites were also demonstrated, particularly the separation of high-viscosity oil-water mixtures via the solar-driven mode, demonstrating the broad prospects of such modified sponges in actual applications. This study provides a new avenue for rationally designing novel oil adsorption and separation materials.

Keywords: Magnetic response; Oil–water separation; Photothermal conversion; Self–cleaning; Superhydrophobic sponge.