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Updated: May 11, 2026

Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Superhydrophobic activated carbon-coated sponges for separation and absorption
Hanxue Sun1, An Li, Zhaoqi Zhu
1State Key Laboratory of Gansu Advanced Nonferrous Metal Materials, Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Alloys and Processing, Ministry of Education, College of Petrochemical Technology, Lanzhou University of Technology, Langongping Road 287, Lanzhou 730050, PR China.
Abstract:
Highly porous activated carbon with a large surface area and pore volume was synthesized by KOH activation using commercially available activated carbon as a precursor. By modification with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), highly porous activated carbon showed superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 163.6°. The changes in wettability of PDMS- treated highly porous activated carbon were attributed to the deposition of a low-surface-energy silicon coating onto activated carbon (confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), which had microporous characteristics (confirmed by XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses). Using an easy dip-coating method, superhydrophobic activated carbon-coated sponges were also fabricated; those exhibited excellent absorption selectivity for the removal of a wide range of organics and oils from water, and also recyclability, thus showing great potential as efficient absorbents for the large-scale removal of organic contaminants or oil spills from water.
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