One-step preparation of modified photothermal-driven melamine foam with gradient wettability for oil–water separation

Abstract

The absorption of high-viscosity oil by traditional oil absorbing materials has always been a challenge. So there is an urgent need to solve the problem of slow absorption of high-viscosity oil. In this work, an emulsion composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), carbon black (CB) and waterborne polyurethane (solid content 40%) was sprayed on the melamine foam (MF). After volatilization of organic solvents, the photothermal material CB was fixed on the MF framework, making it photothermal. By raising the temperature of the modified foam to accelerate the internal thermal movement of high-viscosity oil molecules around the foam, intermolecular forces are reduced, thereby accelerating the separation process. The absorption capacity of this modified MF towards organic solvents and oil is up to 79 times its own weight. In addition, the mechanical properties of the modified foam are improved to a certain extent, more conducive to the continuous oil–water separation. This photothermal absorption material provides ideas for the rapid removal of high-viscosity oil, heavy oil, etc.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

photothermal / high-viscosity oil / oil–water separation

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Declaration of competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11702187), the Research Fund of China National Textile and Apparel Council (Grant No. 2022033), and the Fuzhou Science and Technology Plan Sponsorship Project No. 2022-Y-005. We would also like to thank the Analytical &Testing Center of Tiangong University for the work related to surface morphology and chemical structure of composite fabric.

Online appendix

Electronic supplementary material (ESM) can be found in the online version at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-024-0690-z and https://journal.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-024-0690-z that includes Figs. S1–S5.

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