ABSTRACT

Dodecyltrimethoxysilane (DTMS)-modified reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites were incorporated into polyurethane (PU) sponges by a combination of dip-coating and thermal curing reduction reaction to obtain a novel superhydrophobic DTMS-rGO-PU sponge for effective oil/water separation. The reaction conditions, such as the dip-coating solution concentration, the thermal curing reduction temperature, and the reaction time were demonstrated to be key factors in forming hierarchical DTMS-rGO nanocomposites, which significantly affected the surface wettability of the PU sponge. The resulting DTMS-rGO-PU sponge with a static water contact angle (WCA) of 152.2° displayed superior superhydrophobicity, and achieved an oil–water separation efficiency of 99.89% for various oil/water mixtures. This superhydrophobic sponge also showed minimal deterioration in its high oil adsorption capacity after 100 recycled adsorption operations. Furthermore, the as-prepared DTMS-rGO-PU sponge was proven to be physically and chemically stable and durable in harsh environmental conditions, suggesting its potential for industrial applications in oil spillage management.

摘要

通过浸涂和热固化还原反应相结合，将十二烷基三甲氧基硅烷（DTMS）改性的还原氧化石墨烯（rGO）纳米复合材料掺入聚氨酯（PU）海绵中，获得新型超疏水DTMS-rGO-PU海绵，用于有效的油/水分离。浸涂溶液浓度、热固化还原温度和反应时间等反应条件被证明是形成多级DTMS-rGO纳米复合材料的关键因素，显着影响PU海绵的表面润湿性。所得的DTMS-rGO-PU海绵具有152.2°的静态水接触角（WCA），表现出优异的超疏水性，并且对各种油/水混合物的油水分离效率达到99.89%。经过 100 次循环吸附操作后，这种超疏水海绵的高吸油能力也表现出最小程度的恶化。此外，所制备的DTMS-rGO-PU海绵被证明在恶劣的环境条件下具有物理和化学稳定性和耐用性，表明其在溢油管理中的工业应用潜力。