Simple fabrication of superhydrophobic PLA with honeycomb-like structures for high-efficiency oil-water separation

Polylactic acid(PLA) is one of the most suitable candidates for environmental pollution treatment because of its biodegradability which will not cause secondary pollution to the environment after application.However,there is still a lack of a green and facile way to prepare PLA oil-water separation materials.In this work,a water-assisted thermally induced phase separation method for the preparation of superhydrophobic PLA oil-water separation material with honeycomb-like structures is reported.The PLA material shows great ability in application and could adsorb 27.3 times oil to its own weight.In addition,it could also be applicated as a filter with excellent efficiency(50.9 m^3 m^-2 h^-1).     

Fabrication of superhydrophobic sponge with hierarchical structure and application for oil/water separation

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.     

Designing magnetic and superhydrophobic cellulose nanofibers based-aerogel for efficient oil water separation

In this work, we used cellulose nanofibers (CNF) as the skeleton, Fe₃O₄@ZnO composite particles as magnetic synergist particles, 3-(2-aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane (AS) and trimethoxy(octyl)silane (OTMS) as water-based hydrophobic modifiers to prepare magnetic and superhydrophobic cellulose nanofibers based-aerogel with low density and intricate three-dimensional structure. Fe₃O₄@ZnO confers magnetic properties (3.82 emu/g) and exceptional thermal stability (water contact angle of 150.1° at 200 °C) to the system, while the combination with OTMS/AS endows the system superhydrophobic (157.5°) and excellent mechanical properties (stress of 96.95 kPa at 80% strain). It is worth noting that in the process of modifying the system with OTMS/AS, no organic solvents and acidic substances are used in the solution. Benefiting from their synergies, the system demonstrates a notable oil absorption capacity (12.31–41.91 g/g) and outstanding oil selectivity (exceeding 90%), driven by gravity alone. Interestingly, this system, marked by its cost-effectiveness, simplicity, eco-friendliness, and heightened efficiency, holds promising prospects for diverse applications in different oil–water separation behavior and purifying industrial oil wastewater, as well as oil flooding incidents.     

Superhydrophobic Micro/Nanostructured Copper Mesh with Self-Cleaning Property for E ective Oil/Water Separation

In this work, a simple method was carried out to successfully fabricate superoleophilic and superhydrophobic N-dodecyltrimethoxysilane@tungsten trioxide coated copper mesh. The as-fabricated copper mesh displayed prominent superoleophilicity and superhydrophobicity with a huge water contact angle about 154.39^° and oil contact angle near 0^°. Moreover, the coated copper mesh showed high separation efficiency approximately 99.3%, and huge water flux about 9962.3 L·h^-1·m^-2, which could be used to separate various organic solvents/water mixtures. Furthermore, the coated copper mesh showed favorable stability that the separation efficiency remained above 90% after 10 separation cycles. Benefiting from the excellent photocatalytic degradation ability of tungsten trioxide, the coated copper mesh possessed the self-cleaning capacity. Therefore, the mesh contaminated with lubricating oil could regain superhydrophobic property, and this property of self-cleaning permitted that the fabricated copper mesh could be repeatedly used for oil and water separation.     

Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic SiO2-coated mesh used for corrosive and hot water/oil separation

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Oil pollution has been a worldwide problem. Most of the superhydrophobic materials lose their superhydrophobicity when exposed to hot water (e.g.,...     

Robust superhydrophobic candle soot and silica composite sponges for efficient oil/water separation in corrosive and hot water

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - The superhydrophobic sponges were fabricated through dip-coating candle soot (?CS) and SiO2 nanoparticles on polyurethane (P?U) sponges....     

Controllable wettability of laser treated aluminum mesh for on-demand oil/water separation

Oil/water separation has attracted more attention with the dramatic increasing of oil spill accidents and arbitrarily discharged oily industrial water. However, many reported materials with controllable wettability for on-demand oil/water separation of both heavy and light oil/water mixtures involve complicated devices and dangerous fabrication processes. Herein, we propose a simple, environmentally friendly and high-efficient method to fabricate Al mesh with controllable wettability. Heavy oil can be separated with a high efficiency of 99% in oil-removing mode. For light oil, the separation efficiency can also reach up to 99% in water-removing mode. Additionally, surface wettability of the mesh can be conversed from superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and heating, thereby realizing continuous bidirectional separation. Therefore, this work provides a facile, green, and efficient way for on-demand oil/water separation and finds a promising solution for oil pollution problems.     

Facile preparation of superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic mesh for oil/water separation in harsh environments

An effective solution to separate oil and water is urgently needed owing to the increasingly serious problem of oil pollution. Numerous studies have been done to endow ordinary materials with extreme wettability for oil/water separation. Unfortunately, most of these materials cannot work in harsh environments, resulting in the low stability and practicability in practice. Herein, a facile method was proposed to fabricate superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic mesh by immersing ordinary mesh in a mixture of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and chromium trioxide (CrO₃). After immersing for just 1?min, the mesh was endowed with superhydrophilicity (CA?=?0°) and underwater superoleophobicity (hexane CA?=?151°, SA?=?14°). Increasing the immersion time to 3?min, the prepared mesh exhibited better superoleophobicity. A separation device was developed based on the prepared mesh and the separation efficiencies for diverse oil/water mixtures containing acid, alkaline, salt and hot water were above 95%. The device retained a high efficiency after being reused for 20 times and the prepared mesh maintained superoleophobicity after immersing underwater for 72?h and abrasion test of 100 cycles. This oil/water separation method is easy-to-use, inexpensive, power-free and it can be used to separate caustic oil/water mixtures.     

Crosslinked poly(ethylene oxide) fouling resistant coating materials for oil/water separation

Potential fouling reducing coating materials were synthesized via free-radical photopolymerization of aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). Crosslinked PEGDA (XLPEGDA) exhibited high water permeability and good fouling resistance to oil/water mixtures. Water permeability increased strongly with increasing the water content in the prepolymerization water mixture, going from 10 to 150 L μm/(m² h bar) as prepolymerization water content increased from 60 to 80 wt.%. However, molecular weight cutoff decreased as water content increased. These materials were applied to polysulfone (PSF) UF membranes to form coatings on the surface of the PSF membranes. Oil/water crossflow filtration experiments showed that the coated PSF membranes had water flux values 400% higher than that of an uncoated PSF membrane after 24 h of operation, and the coated membranes had higher organic rejection than the uncoated membranes.     

Continuous separation of oil from water surface by a novel tubular unit based on graphene coated polyurethane sponge

We develop a new strategy for the continuous separation of oil from water surface using a novel tubular unit based on graphene coated polyurethane (P‐GEPU) sponge, and the P‐GEPU sponge was fabricated by a simple dip‐coating method; the as‐prepared sponges could adsorb different kinds of oil and organic liquids while repelling water. Moreover, the tubular unit was assembled by wrapping the P‐GEPU sponge on a porous PU hollow tube and combined with the accessories including pipes and joints. The tubular unit could float on the surface of water, and a continuous oil collection from water surface through vacuum pressure could be fulfilled, showing a high oil‐water separation efficiency (>96%). Finally, oil‐water separation efficiency remains above 93% after 10 cycles, exhibiting excellent reusability. In addition, our findings are easily scaled up, showing a great promise for large‐scale oil spill remediation.     

Preparation of emulsion‐templated fluorinated polymers and their application in oil/water separation

A series of emulsion‐templated fluorinated polymers (polyHIPEs) were first synthesized with introducing 2‐(perfluorohexyl)ethyl methacrylate (PEM) to the external phase of water‐in‐styrene high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templates. The morphology (i.e., void size and its distribution) of these porous materials could be tuned simply by changing PEM and/or surfactant amount. The synergistic effect between the surface chemistry and surface architecture allowed the polyHIPEs to possess hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 151°. The superhydrophobicity and oleophilicity of the polyHIPEs, together with their highly open porous structure, make the material a very competitive candidate as a filtration material for oil/water separation in practice with the efficiency of separating dichloromethane from the oil/water mixture of 95%. Such oil/water separating capacity was maintained after 10 cycles of filtration of oil/water, indicating the cyclic usage of the polyHIPE is feasible. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1508–1515     

基于原位结晶苯膦酸锆膜的油水分离网的制备及应用

运用水热法在铜网表面原位结晶生长苯膦酸锆,获得微纳米级粗糙结构,且苯环排列在苯膦酸锆表面的最外层,使铜网具有超疏水和超亲油的性质,无需任何低表面能物质修饰,即可对油水混合物进行分离.苯膦酸锆层与基底存在一定的结合力,具有机械稳定性;同时又具有抗酸碱的化学稳定性.这种油水分离网不仅能够实现油水混合物的分离,还可以实现乳化油的油水分离,在实际生产运用过程中具有较好的应用前景.     

树莓状超疏水多孔复合棉纤维的制备及油水分离性能

基于聚多巴胺（PDA）的化学性质和树莓状纳米粒子的粗糙结构,以聚多巴胺包覆的棉纤维为基底,制备了具有多重粗糙度的树莓状超疏水多孔复合棉纤维材料.通过扫描电子显微镜观察树莓状超疏水多孔复合棉纤维表面的微观形貌,PDA-SiO₂纳米粒子稳定地固定在聚多巴胺涂覆的棉纤维表面.经过氟化改性的树莓状超疏水多孔复合棉纤维具有超疏水性,水接触角为158.2°,油接触角为0°.油/水分离实验结果表明,树莓状超疏水多孔复合棉纤维对己烷/水混合物的分离效率可达99.4%以上,使用20次后仍维持较高的分离效率.同时,其具有较高的溶剂吸附能力（13~34 g/g）、重复使用性及机械稳定性,吸油能力可与硅气凝胶相媲美.     

Superhydrophobic polymer multilayers for the filtration- and absorption-based separation of oil/water mixtures

We report layer-by-layer approaches to the design of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic substrates for the filtration- or absorption-based separation of bulk oil from oil/water mixtures. Fabrication of covalently cross-linked, nanoporous polymer multilayers on mesh substrates yielded superhydrophobic and superoleophilic porous media that allow oil to pass, but completely prevent the passage of bulk water. This approach can be used to promote the filtration of oil/water mixtures, and these film-coated substrates can be bent and physically manipulated without affecting oil- and water-wetting properties. Fabrication on three-dimensional macroporous polymer pads yielded flexible objects that float on water and absorb oil at contaminated air/water interfaces. This approach permits oil to be recovered by squeezing or rinsing with solvent and the reuse of these materials without decreases in performance. These pads can also absorb oil from simulated seawater, brine, and other media representative of marine or industrial contexts where oil contamination can occur. Our results address issues associated with the design of polymer-based coatings for the separation, removal, and collection of oil from oil-contaminated water. With further development, this approach could provide low-energy alternatives to conventional remediation methods or yield new strategies that can be implemented in ways that are impractical using current technologies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3127–3136     

一种可用于光降解的纳米氧化锌油水分离网

通过低温水热法在钢丝网上生长六棱柱形的氧化锌纳米柱.包覆了氧化锌纳米柱的钢丝网具有水下超疏油的特殊浸润性,并可用于油水分离.滤网在室温常压下可对含有汽油、柴油和原油等油水混合物进行高效快速分离,分离效率可达98%以上.材料可以承受1.4 kPa的油层压力且可反复使用.由于氧化锌的光响应性强,滤网可快速降解水中的亚甲基蓝,2 h的降解率可达80%.包覆了氧化锌纳米柱的钢丝网具备同时进行油水分离和降解环境中污染物的能力,是一种新型多功能水处理材料.     

Electrical interaction between two cylinders with an ion-penetrable charged membrane in an oil/water interface

The electrical interaction between two long, parallel cylinders each is covered by an ion-penetrable charged membrane immersed in an oil/water interface is investigated. The effects of contact angle, radius of cylinder, and membrane thickness on the electrical interaction force are examined. The results of numerical simulation reveal that the following conditions lead to a greater electrical interaction force: (i) a larger contact angle, i.e. a larger fraction of a cylinder in the oil phase; (ii) a larger cylinder radius; and (iii) a thinner membrane. For a fixed ionic strength, the electrical interaction force is insensible to the type of electrolytes in the water phase, in general. However, if two cylinders are close enough, then the higher the valence of counterions the greater the electrical interaction force.     

Effect of nano‐size nodular structure induced by CNT‐promoted phase separation on the fabrication of superhydrophobic polyvinyl chloride films

The nonsolvent‐induced phase separation (NIPS) method was employed to fabricate the porous films based on polyvinyl chloride loaded with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The combinational addition of CNTs and a proper nonsolvent (ethanol) resulted in a porous surface layer with the nano‐size nodular structure possessing an exact superhydrophobic behavior (water contact angle [WCA] = 157° and sliding angle [SA] <5°). The size of PVC nodules at the surface layer varies in the range of 200 to 800 nm depending on the nonsolvent concentrations, and polymer molecular weight. The effects of various nonsolvent concentrations as well as PVC molecular weight on the surface properties of the films were also investigated. Morphological and roughness analyses revealed the pronounced role of PVC molecular weight on the size of nodules, and the structural uniformity of the surface morphology based on the thermodynamic parameters such as relaxation time and dynamic of polymer chains. The concurrent use of CNTs and nonsolvent led to promote the NIPS process due to the nucleating role of CNTs, which were localized within the polymer‐rich phase leading to an ultra‐fine and packed nodular surface structure. Transmission electron microscopy results also proved the very well dispersion quality of CNTs. Glass transition temperature of PVC was also assessed, and the results were correlated to the associating ability of CNTs with polymer chains during the phase separation process. Overall, the promising potential of CNT/ethanol combination on the surface porosity and hydrophobicity of PVC nanocomposite films was revealed in this study, which could further extend its application window.     

含氟共聚乳液改善浸渍滤纸抗水抗油性的研究

用核/壳乳液聚合工艺,通过改变单体组成、设计乳胶粒子的形态结构和在乳胶粒子的壳层中引入含氟丙烯酸酯单体,制备具有核/壳结构的含氟丙烯酸酯的共聚乳液。并通过FTIR1、3C-NMR、TEM等手段对共聚乳液的化学结构以及乳胶粒子形态结构进行了表征。同时研究了含氟单体种类和用量、乳化剂种类以及单体加料方式对其聚乳液性能以及浸渍滤纸抗水/油性的影响。     

Adsorption behavior of phospholipid vesicles at oil/water interfaces

By measuring the change in interfacial tension after adding phospholipid vesicles to an aqueous solution of electrolyte, we studied the adsorption behavior of phospholipid vesicles at oil/water interfaces. The effects of concentration of three kinds of electrolyte (NaCl, MgCl₂, LaCl₃) and of the mixing ratio of two kinds of phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine), on the adsorption behavior at an oil/water interface were examined. The results were interpreted using the DLVO theory.     

O/O and H/D separation factors for liquid/vapor permeation of water through an hydrophobic membrane

Liquid/vapor permeation of water through commercial grade hydrophobic PTFE membranes at 323<P(Torr)<160, shows enhancements in logarithmic separation factors, ln[(i'/i)] = In [(χ'/χ) _downstream/ (χ'/χ) _upstream], which differ markedly for isotope separation of oxygen and hydrogen. The prime refers to the lighter isotope and χ is the mole fraction. Thus ln[(16/18)] is found to be as large as 6 times the ratio of the vapor pressure isotope effect, ln(_o = ln (P^o'/P^o), but ln[(H/D)]/ln[_o(H/D)] is only as large as 1.3. The difference in enhancement factors indicates that membrane transport mechanisms must be different for the two separations. The unusually large separation factor for ¹⁶O/¹⁸O may be of practical interest.