A Green Approach to Modify Surface Properties of Polyurethane Foam for Enhanced Oil Absorption.

Nora Jullok,Mehmet Gürsoy,Ahmad Fauzi Ismail,Rosyiela Azwa Roslan,Woei Jye Lau,Mustafa Karaman,Zhi Chien Ng

doi:10.3390/polym12091883

Nora Jullok, Mehmet Gürsoy + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12091883

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Abstract

The non-selective property of conventional polyurethane (PU) foam tends to lower its oil absorption efficiency. To address this issue, we modified the surface properties of PU foam using a rapid solvent-free surface functionalization approach based on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method to establish an extremely thin yet uniform coating layer to improve foam performance. The PU foam was respectively functionalized using different monomers, i.e., perfluorodecyl acrylate (PFDA), 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl acrylate (HFBA), and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), and the effect of deposition times (1, 5 and 10 min) on the properties of foam was investigated. The results showed that all the modified foams demonstrated a much higher water contact angle (i.e., greater hydrophobicity) and greater absorption capacities compared to the control PU foam. This is due to the presence of specific functional groups, e.g., fluorine (F) and silane (Si) in the modified PU foams. Of all, the PU/PHFBAi foam exhibited the highest absorption capacities, recording 66.68, 58.15, 53.70, and 58.38 g/g for chloroform, acetone, cyclohexane, and edible oil, respectively. These values were 39.19–119.31% higher than that of control foam. The promising performance of the PU/PHFBAi foam is due to the improved surface hydrophobicity attributed to the original perfluoroalkyl moieties of the HFBA monomer. The PU/PHFBAi foam also demonstrated a much more stable absorption performance compared to the control foam when both samples were reused for up to 10 cycles. This clearly indicates the positive impact of the proposed functionalization method in improving PU properties for oil absorption processes.

Highlights

The spills of oil in seas/rivers and on land could pose serious threats to environments owing to the presence of a wide range of hazardous and volatile organic compounds
The surface chemistry of the foam is substantially important during oil/solvent absorption as it plays a significant role in determining its absorption capacity
A rapid surface modification process based on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method was employed to functionalize the surface properties of polyurethane (PU) foam for enhanced absorption capacity

Summary

Introduction

The spills of oil in seas/rivers and on land could pose serious threats to environments owing to the presence of a wide range of hazardous and volatile organic compounds. Low-cost yet effective approaches for oil spill removals are very important. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, the use of sorbents outperforms the other two methods because it can be employed to remove oil from the sea/river. Polymeric foams made of polyurethane (PU) perhaps are the most popular organic sorbents for oil spill treatment due to their low cost and rapid absorption rate [1].

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