Robust polymer grafted Fe3O4 nanospheres for benign removal of oil from water

Abstract

Removal of oil from the oil–water mixture (O–W mixture) or oil-in-water emulsions (O/W emulsion) is highly imperative. We have fabricated two series of polymer grafted iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanospheres. The oil removal efficiency of the nanospheres was found to be dependent on the grafted amount of polymers. The polystyrene grafted Fe3O4 nanospheres have shown better oil removal efficiency than the corresponding poly(butyl acrylate) grafted Fe3O4 nanospheres. The higher amount of grafted polystyrene can provide more hydrophobic character to FS series nanospheres. The FS series nanospheres exhibited higher oil-absorption capability than FB series nanospheres. Both the series of nanospheres can be recycled by simple washing method. The present results can pave the way to fabricate the robust materials for efficient absorption of various oils or organic solvents from both the oil–water mixture and oil–water emulsion.