Abstract
Compositing is an interesting strategy that has always been employed to introduce or enhance desired functionalities in material systems. In this paper, sponges containing polypropylene, lignin, and octavinyl-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (OV-POSS) were successfully prepared via an easy and elegant strategy called thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). To fully explore the behaviour of different components of prepared sponges, properties were characterized by a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared measurement (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, wettability properties toward an organic liquid and oil were investigated. The FTIR analysis confirmed the chemical modification of the components. TGA and DSC measurements revealed thermal stability was much better with an increase in OV-POSS content. OV-POSS modified sponges exhibited ultra-hydrophobicity and high oleophilicity with water contact angles of more than 125°. The SEM revealed that POSS molecules acted as a support for reduced surface roughness. Moreover, OV-POSS-based blend sponges showed higher sorption capacities compared with other blend sponges without OV-POSS. The new blend sponges demonstrated a potential for use as sorbent engineering materials in water remediation.
Highlights
Industrial wastewater and oil spillage are considered as the main source of water pollution, which threatens human life and the marine system [1,2,3,4,5]
We presented a facile method of fabrication eco-friendly blend sponges from PP, lignin, and POSS using an efficient way, namely, the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS)
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated that the addition of POSS nanoparticles could enhance the dispersion and compatibility of the lignin in matrix systems by making the surface smoother
Summary
Industrial wastewater and oil spillage are considered as the main source of water pollution, which threatens human life and the marine system [1,2,3,4,5]. Various methods have been widely adopted to remedy water pollution, including application of booms, in situ burning, skimmers, biological treatment, microorganisms, dispersants [7,8,9,10]. These methods had many disadvantages, such as that their application was limited, high-cost, poorly efficient, and had adverse effects on the environment. Different materials have been developed to face the great challenge of removing oil from water surfaces, such as a sponge [12], foam [13], carbon nanofiber aerogel [14], and carbon nanotubes [15]. Most of the materials still had the significant problem of high cost in chemicals
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