Hyper-Cross-Linked Polymer-Decorated Surfaces with Ultrahigh Efficiency for Oil/Water Emulsion Separation and
Qi Sheng1, Wendy Tian2, Colin D Wood1
1Energy Business Unit, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Kensington, Western Australia 6151, Australia.
Abstract:
A novel superhydrophobic/superoleophilic surface has been developed by direct surface condensation of dichloroxylene that results in a controlled coating of hyper-cross-linked polymers. Specifically, the coating was successfully applied to a melamine formaldehyde sponge and optimized by fine-tuning the reaction variables. The resulting hierarchical porous sorbents stabilized by polydimethylsiloxane exhibited an increased surface area, good physiochemical stability, high selectivity, and adsorption capacities for a variety of oils and solvents. The composite can separate oil in water emulsions with ultrahigh separation efficiency >99% over 10 cycles in liter-scale experiments, wherein the highest separation efficiency was as low as 2 ppm even with a short period of filtration, suggesting strong potential for oil/water separation and recovery.
