Application of Nano-Hydroxyapatite Derived from Oyster Shell in Fabricating Superhydrophobic Sponge for Efficient Oil/Water Separation |
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Authors: | Chao Liu Su-Hua Chen Chi-Hao Yang-Zhou Qiu-Gen Zhang Ruby N. Michael |
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Affiliation: | 1.Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistant Pollutants Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, China; (C.L.); (C.-H.Y.-Z.); (Q.-G.Z.);2.School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia; |
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Abstract: | The exploration of nonhazardous nanoparticles to fabricate a template-driven superhydrophobic surface is of great ecological importance for oil/water separation in practice. In this work, nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HAp) with good biocompatibility was easily developed from discarded oyster shells and well incorporated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to create a superhydrophobic surface on a polyurethane (PU) sponge using a facile solution–immersion method. The obtained nano-HAp coated PU (nano-HAp/PU) sponge exhibited both excellent oil/water selectivity with water contact angles of over 150° and higher absorption capacity for various organic solvents and oils than the original PU sponge, which can be assigned to the nano-HAp coating surface with rough microstructures. Moreover, the superhydrophobic nano-HAp/PU sponge was found to be mechanically stable with no obvious decrease of oil recovery capacity from water in 10 cycles. This work presented that the oyster shell could be a promising alternative to superhydrophobic coatings, which was not only beneficial to oil-containing wastewater treatment, but also favorable for sustainable aquaculture. |
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Keywords: | nano hydroxyapatite superhydrophobic sponge oyster shell PDMS oil/water separation |
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