Abstract
Porous materials derived from natural resources, such as Luffa sponges, pomelo peel and jute fibres, have recently emerged as oil adsorbents for water purification, due to their suitability, low environmental impact, biodegradability and low cost. Here we show, for the first time, that the porosity of the fruiting body of polypore mushrooms can be used to absorb oils and organic solvents while repelling water. We engineered the surface properties of Ganoderma applanatum fungi, of which the fruiting body consists of a regular array of long capillaries embedded in a fibrous matrix, with paraffin wax, octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) and trichloro(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)silane. Morphological and wettability analyses of the modified fungus revealed that the OTS treatment was effective in preserving the 3D porosity of the natural material, inducing super-hydrophobicity (water contact angle higher than 150°) and improving oil sorption capacity (1.8–3.1 g/g). The treated fungus was also inserted into fluidic networks as a filtration element, and its ability to separate water from chloroform was demonstrated.
Highlights
Porous materials with special wettability find application as membranes and sponges for water and wastewater treatment [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The first type of treatment consisted of dip-coating the samples in a paraffin wax/toluene solution for 30 s (PFW-30), 60 s (PFW-60)
We show that Ganoderma fungi can be considered a source of 3D biodegradable porous materials with low environmental impact for oil/water separation applications
Summary
Porous materials with special wettability (super-hydrophobicity and lipophilicity) find application as membranes and sponges for water and wastewater treatment [1,2,3,4,5,6]. They combine engineered wetting properties (water contact angle higher than 150◦ , sliding angle lower than 10◦ , and low oil contact angle) and interconnected porosity to repel water while promoting the flow of oily substances and other pollutants through the pores. Recent papers have reported on the super-hydrophobic treatments of natural Luffa sponges (Luffa cylindrica) They are formed of a three-dimensional (3D) network of cellulose-based microfibres [8]. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane [9], fluorinated silica nanoparticles [10] and waterborne polyurea adhesives containing silica nanoparticles [11] have been used to functionalise
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