Novel Janus polyurethane sponges with asymmetric wettability enabling all-weather stable and efficient remediation of crude oil spills in harsh environments

Abstract

Developing high-performance adsorbent materials featuring with all-weather service and high sorption efficiency to recover viscous crude oil spills in harsh environments is urgently required, yet it still remains an onerous challenge. Herein, a prominent Janus polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) & Ti3C2TX MXene @ polyurethane sponge (JPMPU) was exploited via a convenient anisotropic successive depositing technology. Thanks to controllable asymmetric decoration of Ti3C2Tx MXene/PDMS and hydrophilic components on two antithetic sides, the resulting sponges exhibited a fascinating asymmetric superwettability, rendering JPMPUs superb interfacial floating stability and overturning-resistance property. Moreover, Janus sponges displayed outstanding photothermal and Joule-heating effects. Particularly, ultrahigh temperatures of 99.5 °C and 102.1 °C were acquired for JPMPU under the sunlight intensity of 1.5 kW m−2 and the applied voltage of 10 V, respectively. On the basis of these favorable features, JPMPUs exhibited a remarkable in situ sorption capability for high-viscous crude oil spills, which can absorb >16.1 and 19.0 times its own weight of crude oil driven by the solar heat and Joule heat, respectively. Consequently, together with robust recyclability, this 3D porous Janus thermal management sponge with superior self-heating integration functionality and robust self-floating stability shows great potential for fast all-weather crude oil recovery in harsh environments.