Visco Annamaria, Quattrocchi Antonino, Nocita Davide, Montanini Roberto, Pistone Alessandro
Department of Engineering, University of Messina, C.da di Dio (S. Agata), I-98166 Messina, Italy.
Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials-CNR IPCB, Via P. Gaifami 18, I-95126 Catania, Italy.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Mar 15;11(3):735. doi: 10.3390/nano11030735.
Marine pollution due to spillage of hydrocarbons represents a well-known current environmental problem. In order to recover the otherwise wasted oils and to prevent pollution damage, polyurethane foams are considered suitable materials for their ability to separate oils from sea-water and for their reusability. In this work we studied polyurethane foams filled with carbon nanofibers, in varying amounts, aimed at enhancing the selectivity of the material towards the oils and at improving the mechanical durability of the foam. Polyurethane-based foams were experimentally characterized by morphological, surface, and mechanical analyses (optical microscopy observation, contact angle measurement, absorption test according to ASTM F726-99 standard and compression fatigue tests according to ISO 24999 standard). Results indicated an increase in hydrophobic behavior and a good oleophilic character of the composite sponges besides an improved selective absorption of the foam toward oils in mixed water/oil media. The optimal filler amount was found to be around 1 wt% for the homogeneous distribution inside the polymeric foam. Finally, the fatigue test results showed an improvement of the mechanical properties of the foam with the growing carbon filler amount.
碳氢化合物泄漏造成的海洋污染是当前一个众所周知的环境问题。为了回收原本会被浪费的油类并防止污染破坏，聚氨酯泡沫因其能够从海水中分离油类以及可重复使用的能力而被视为合适的材料。在这项工作中，我们研究了填充有不同含量碳纳米纤维的聚氨酯泡沫，旨在提高材料对油类的选择性并改善泡沫的机械耐久性。通过形态学、表面和力学分析（光学显微镜观察、接触角测量、根据ASTM F726 - 99标准进行的吸收测试以及根据ISO 24999标准进行的压缩疲劳测试）对聚氨酯基泡沫进行了实验表征。结果表明，复合海绵的疏水行为增加且具有良好的亲油特性，此外泡沫在混合水/油介质中对油类的选择性吸收也有所改善。发现最佳填料量约为1 wt%，以便在聚合物泡沫内部均匀分布。最后，疲劳测试结果表明，随着碳填料量的增加，泡沫的机械性能有所改善。
