Facile synthesis of flexible mesoporous aerogel with superhydrophobicity for efficient removal of layered and emulsified oil from water

Abstract

Aerogel with porous structure and ultra-light weight is a potential sorbent for solving oils or organic solvents pollution. Herein, a type of flexible mesoporous aerogel was fabricated though a simple ambient pressure drying using methyltrimethoxysilane/dodecyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS/DTMS) as precursors and distilled water as solvent. The as-synthesized aerogel exhibits superhydrophobicity with water contact angle of 163° and low density of 0.102 g/cm3. Moreover, the aerogel can selectively separate oils and water-insoluble organic solvents on and under water, and the sorption capacities can reach up to 7.98–13.4 times its own weight. More importantly, the obtained aerogel is capable of separate surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with high separation efficiency of greater than 98.4%. In addition, the aerogel is highly resistant toward corrosive aqueous solutions (acidic, alkaline, salty solutions), harsh temperature environments (−30 and 160 °C), and mechanical abrasion. Due to eco-friendly fabrication process, low cost, and outstanding oil/water separation performance, the developed aerogel have potential application in oils or organic pollutants sorption and water purification.