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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

The Evolution of Silica Nanoparticle-polyester Coatings on Surfaces Exposed to Sunlight
Published on: October 11, 2016
Novel Superhydrophobic Sand and Polyurethane Sponge Coated with Silica/Modified Asphaltene Nanoparticles for Rapid
Ayman M Atta1, Mahmood M S Abdullah2, Hamad A Al-Lohedan3
1Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. aatta@ksu.edu.sa.
Abstract:
Superhydrophobic nanomaterials are promising in the important pursuit to alleviate the environmental pollution caused by the petroleum crude oil industry, especially to clean-up oil spills. In this work, asphaltenes isolated from crude oil were modified to act as capping agents during the synthesis of hydrophobic silica nanoparticles (HSNPs). The chemical structure, surface morphology, particle size, and surfaces charge of HSNPs were investigated. The contact angles of water droplets on HSNP film surfaces were measured to investigate their wetting properties. Finally, superhydrophobic sand and polyurethane sponge were prepared by coating them with HSNPs and applied in the cleanup of oil spills of viscous heavy Arabian crude oil.
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