High-performance polyimine xerogels: a lightweight and recyclable solution for high-temperature oil adsorption

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Remediating viscous oil spills and organic contaminants in harsh environments demands sorbents with superior adsorption and stability.
• Existing sorbents often lack the necessary thermal and chemical resilience for extreme conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel class of fluorinated copolyimine xerogels (XG-CoPI) for effective oil spill remediation.
• To evaluate the adsorption capabilities, thermal stability, and chemical resistance of the synthesized xerogels.

Main Methods:

• Facile synthesis of fluorinated copolyimine xerogels (XG-CoPI) via solvent exchange and polycondensation.
• Cross-linking with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN) to enhance mechanical and thermal properties.
• Characterization of porous structure, density, thermal decomposition, oil adsorption capacity, cyclic durability, and chemical stability.

Main Results:

• The optimized XG-CoPI10 exhibited a low density (0.229 g cm⁻³) and high thermal stability (decomposition > 300 °C).
• Superior hot-oil adsorption capacity of 3.83 g g⁻¹ at 150 °C, surpassing room-temperature capacity (3.21 g g⁻¹).
• Demonstrated excellent cyclic durability over 10 cycles and high chemical stability (>96% mass retention in DMF, NMP).

Conclusions:

• XG-CoPI represents a high-performance sorbent for high-temperature oil spill remediation.
• The material is also suitable for industrial wastewater purification due to its stability and adsorption efficiency.