Abstract
Membrane-based metal substrates with special surface wettability have been applied widely for oil/water separation. In this work, a series of copper foams with superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity were chemically etched using 10 mg mL−1 FeCl3/HCl solution with consequent ultrasonication, followed by the subsequent modification of four sulfhydryl compounds. A water contact angle of 158° and a sliding angle lower than 5° were achieved for the copper foam modified using 10 mM n-octadecanethiol solution in ethanol. In addition, the interaction mechanism was initially investigated, indicating the coordination between copper atoms with vacant orbital and sulfur atoms with lone pair electrons. In addition, the polymeric fibers were electrospun through the dissolution of polystyrene in a good solvent of chlorobenzene, and a nonsolvent of dimethyl sulfoxide. Oil absorption and collection over the water surface were carried out by the miniature boat made out of copper foam, a string bag of as-spun PS fibers with high oil absorption capacity, or the porous boat embedded with the as-spun fibers, respectively. The findings might provide a simple and practical combinational method for the solution of oil spill.
Highlights
IntroductionConstructing an extremely nonwetting surface onto different substrates with the water contact angles (WCAs) more than 150◦ is a great challenge for its tremendous application in areas, such as self-cleaning [1] and anti-icing surfaces [2,3] drag reduction [4], and oil-water separation [5]
Constructing an extremely nonwetting surface onto different substrates with the water contact angles (WCAs) more than 150◦ is a great challenge for its tremendous application in areas, such as self-cleaning [1] and anti-icing surfaces [2,3] drag reduction [4], and oil-water separation [5].Recently, membrane-based metal meshes with special surface wettability have attracted a significant amount of attention for the treatment of increasing industrial oily waste water, as well as frequent oil spill accidents [6,7]
After the rubber plug was screwed on the plastic tube tightly, the mixture of 5 mL CCl4 and 5 mL water was poured in the plastic tube, CCl4 quickly permeated through the foam, owing to its superoleophilic nature, and dropped into the beaker below, while water was retained above the foam due to its superhydrophobic nature
Summary
Constructing an extremely nonwetting surface onto different substrates with the water contact angles (WCAs) more than 150◦ is a great challenge for its tremendous application in areas, such as self-cleaning [1] and anti-icing surfaces [2,3] drag reduction [4], and oil-water separation [5]. The common procedures to fabricate the superhydrophobic surface on Cu substrates include two important steps: One is how to achieve a rough face on the micro- and nano-scales, the other is how to modify a firm film or membrane with a low-surface energy effectively. Micro- and nano-scale structures on the hydrophobic surfaces of these copper substrates were usually involved in many types of morphology and different modified compounds with a low surface energy. A simple solution-immersion and simultaneous ultrasonication with subsequent modification of four typical sulfhydryl compounds were developed to fabricate the superhydrophobic surface. It was composed of multiscale hierarchical irregular structures, including pure Cu phases, micro-/nano-size particles, and organic films. The adsorbed oil in the fibers were quickly released by squeezing, achieving an efficient way to collect the absorbed oil
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