School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Materials of Ministry of Education, Tongji University , Shanghai 201804, People's Republic of China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Aug 30;9(34):29167-29176. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b09160. Epub 2017 Aug 21.
Superhydrophobic/superoleophilic and reinforced ethyl cellulose (SEC) sponges were prepared by cross-linking EC with epichlorohydrin (ECH) and complexing with silanized carbon nanotubes (Si-CNTs) followed by coating nanosilica on the surface of porous sponges and subsequent modification with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS). These synergistic strategies endowed the SEC sponges with the superhydrophobic/superoleophilic properties (θ = 158.2°, θ = 0°, sliding angle = 3°) and outstanding mechanical properties (could bear the pressure of 28.6 kPa without damage). The unique micronanostructures and properties of the porous sponges were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and water contact angle measurements. The as prepared SEC sponges with high mechanical strength were able to collect a wide range of oils and organic solvents with absorption capacity up to 64 times of their own weight. Furthermore, the absorption capacity of the sponges decreased slightly to 86.4% of its initial value after 50 separation cycles, suggesting their excellent recyclable performance. The high efficiency and endurability of the sponges during oil/water separation made them ideal absorbent in oil spillage cleanup.
超疏水/超亲油和增强型乙基纤维素（SEC）海绵是通过交联 EC 与表氯醇（ECH）并与硅烷化碳纳米管（Si-CNTs）络合，然后在多孔海绵表面涂覆纳米二氧化硅，再用十六烷基三甲氧基硅烷（HDTMS）进行修饰来制备的。这些协同策略赋予了 SEC 海绵超疏水/超亲油的特性（θ=158.2°，θ=0°，滑动角=3°）和出色的机械性能（可承受 28.6 kPa 的压力而不会损坏）。多孔海绵的独特微观纳米结构和性能通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、能谱（EDX）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）、热重分析（TGA）和水接触角测量进行了表征。所制备的具有高强度机械性能的 SEC 海绵能够收集广泛的油和有机溶剂，其吸收能力高达自身重量的 64 倍。此外，在 50 次分离循环后，海绵的吸收能力略有下降至初始值的 86.4%，表明其具有优异的可回收性能。该海绵在油水分离过程中的高效率和耐用性使其成为溢油清理中理想的吸附剂。
