Superoleophilic polyurethane sponge for highly efficient oil/water separation

Abstract

A superoleophilic polyurethane sponge had been constructed by means of an immersion method in an ethanol solution of n-octadecyltrichlorosilane. SEM, FTIR, TGA, and XPS unanimously confirmed that PODS had been successfully coated onto the skeleton of polyurethane sponge. The PODS-modified sponge displayed both excellent hydrophobicity with high water contact angle of 152° and good oil affinity. The PODS-modified sponge took the high adsorptive capabilities for the silicone oil, toluene, and peanut oil with 62.1, 73.7, and 98.2 g · g–1 after 50 cycles of extrusion-release, respectively. The superoleophilic sponge in this work exhibited promising opportunities on the oil/water separation and the oil spill remediation.