Synthesis of MnO2/poly(n-butylacrylate-co-butyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) hybrid resins for efficient oils and organic solvents absorption

Abstract

Oil-absorbing materials with three-dimensional network structure are being actively investigated due to their application in the treatment of oil spills and chemical leakage which result from their controllable porous structures and swelling properties. In this work, the oil-absorbing MnO2/poly(n-butylacrylate-co-butyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) resin composite (MnO2/p(BA-co-BMA-co-MMA)) was synthesized by using a combined hydrothermal method and microwave polymerization method, and was successfully applied to absorb oils and organic solvents. In this synthesis, the MnO2 hollow spheres were prepared via a simple hydrothermal method and modified by γ-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (KH-570) under microwave irradiation. Then, the MnO2/p(BA-co-BMA-co-MMA) hybrid resin with good oil absorption capacity and excellent recyclability were synthesized through suspension polymerization by a microwave polymerization route. The as-prepared samples were characterized by Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), contact angle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), etc. The as-prepared porous-structured MnO2 that are comprised of individual microrods possess self-organized shaggy, ball-shaped architectures with sizes ranging from 2 to 4 μm. In order to obtain the hydrophobic surfaces, the surfaces of MnO2 microspheres were chemically modified by KH-570 under microwave irradiation. And the surface of modified MnO2 show high repellency towards water with a water contact angle of 135°. Moreover, the absorption properties of the MnO2/p(BA-co-BMA-co-MMA) hybrid resins were tested in this work. The results indicated that the oil absorption properties were strongly influenced by the content of MnO2 hollow spheres. Furthermore, the MnO2/p(BA-co-BMA-co-MMA) hybrid resin has a maximum absorption capacities of 34.56 g*g−1, 31.82 g*g−1 and 25.89 g*g−1 for the absorption of chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and toluene respectively and could selectively remove oils from water which is promising for their potential applications in oil spill cleanup.