As-prepared Sponge Research Articles

Improved superhydrophobicity of magnetic melamine sponge by aminosilane for batch and continuous oil–water separation

Continuous and efficient separation remains the thorny problem that restricts oil–water separation materials for the large-scale application of oil–water separation. A kind of magnetic melamine sponges with enhanced superhydrophobicity was fabricated by dip coating of polydopamine-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) on melamine sponge. The superhydrophobicity of melamine sponge was improved by adding APTES to cover hydrophilic group of polydopamine. The melamine sponge exhibited water contact angle of 158.3°, the absorption capacity of 43.2–80.7 g/g, volume utilization of 0.70–0.97 v/v and separation efficiencies of 99.6 % for oil–water mixture and 98.6 % for oil/water emulsion. The sponge could carried out in batch and continuous filter devices, and repeated oil absorption capacity could achieve 92.8–96.4 % of initial oil absorption capacity after 45 absorbing-squeezing cycles. The above performances of the as-prepared sponge suggest that it is a promising candidate for large-scale application of oil-spill cleanup and oily wastewater treatment.

An environmentally friendly and superhydrophobic melamine sponge self-roughened by in-situ controllably grown polydopamine nanoparticle for efficient oil-water separation

The preparation of conventional superhydrophobic sponges inevitably requires the involvement of noxious and non-degradable raw materials，thus threatening ecosystems. As reported herein, an environmentally friendly and superhydrophobic melamine sponge is facilely prepared for efficient oil-water separation, which is completely derived from eco-friendly substances. The formation of a hierarchical structure on the sponge skeleton was achieved via the in-situ controllable growth of polydopamine nanoparticles in mildly alkaline solution. In addition, octadecyl amines (ODA) with long chains of hydrophobic alkyl groups were grafted onto the polydopamine coating to reduce the surface energy through Schiff base or Michael addition reactions. Ultimately, the resulted sponge possessed extreme water repellency with a water contact angle (WCA) of 153.21 ± 1.31° and could retain its superhydrophobicity when it was exposed to solutions with different pH values and high temperature. Moreover, the resultant sponge exhibited fully reversible compressibility with up to 80 % strain and excellent structural stability after 200 cyclic compression tests. Meanwhile, distinct organic liquid absorption experiments were conducted to confirm the resulted sponge with excellent oil absorption capacity (73.46–119.66 g/g) and oil-water separation properties. Therefore, the as-prepared superhydrophobic sponge provides valuable insight into efficient oil-water separation.

Novel superhydrophobic sponge with flower-like architecture for oily emulsion separation and organic pollutants photodegradation

Design functionalized absorbent materials that fulfillment complex requirements in sophisticated water-treatment fields remains challenging. In this paper, a novel superhydrophobic/superoleophilic sponge with flower-like channel structures and a photodegradation functionality was fabricated via in-situ chelation of zinc oxide (ZnO) and nano-Ag particles. After low surface energy modification with POTS, the as-prepared sponge displayed remarkable superwettability, with a water contact angle (WCA) of 158.8° ± 1.3°. This endowed it with the ultrafast, selective absorption of diverse oils that are 33.9–135.2 times of their own weight. The prepared sponge’s emulsified oil separation efficiency can reach 99.87%, owing to its superhydrophobic/superoleophilic properties and the electrostatic attraction demulsification, guiding effect of ZnO layer crystal plane. Furthermore, the construction of Schottky barrier at the ZnO@Ag interface reduced the recombination rate of photoexcited electrons and electron-holes. Thereby, the prepared sponge’s photodegradation efficiency reached up to 97.07% after 4 h sunlight irradiation. Notably, the stress attenuation of the prepared sponge was only 14.6% after 100 absorption cycles, indicating its excellent mechanical stability. Moreover, the prepared sponge showed excellent environmental tolerance under severe conditions with its WCA stably exceeding 150.0°. Thus, this durable superwetting sponge can be effectively used for oil/water emulsion separation and organic pollutant degradation.

In-situ fibrillated sugarcane cell wall decorated with WO3-Ag nanocatalyst for efficient adsorption-photocatalytic removal of antibiotics from water

Lignocellulose nanomaterials are extremely compelling in the remediation of organic wastewater, yet still present challenges regarding cost-efficiency, manufacturability, and scalability. Instead of a conventional bottom-up engineering, this study top-down designs multiporous, high specific surface area and anisotropic quaternized lignocellulose nano-sponge, based on the effectiveness of reactive deep eutectic solvent system on in-situ fibrillating sugarcane cell walls. The as-prepared sugarcane sponge reveals outstanding adsorption abilities for broad-spectrum antibiotics via a combination of intermolecular and electrostatic interactions, and serves as a desired carrier for hybrid nano-catalysts (e.g. WO3-Ag) with enhanced overall quantum efficiency. The developed sugarcane/WO3/Ag sponge integrating a functionality of adsorption enrichment with visible-light photocatalysis, can efficiently remove ∼ 99 % tetracycline/levofloxacin/norfloxacin at an initial concentration of 20 mg/L within 120 min at pH 7. The degradation pathway of antibiotics is inferred from the identified intermediates and primary active species. Additionally, the favorable mechanical strength, water stability and reusability of sugarcane/WO3/Ag sponge are demonstrated, which originate from the well-organized lignocellulose fibrils in in-situ fibrillated sugarcane cell wall and their intensive interactions with anchored nanoparticles. Our study offers a novel and feasible top-down nanostructure engineering strategy to manufacture high-performance lignocellulose-based nanocomposites towards environmental remediation.

Hardwood vessel-inspired chitosan-based sponge with superior compressibility, superfast adsorption and remarkable recyclability for microplastics removal in water

Microplastics (MPs) in water that are hazardous and recalcitrant pose formidable risks for human health, necessitating the development of efficient, sustainable removal methods. This study introduces a chitosan/bacterial cellulose sponge with superior compressibility and remarkable recyclability for polystyrene (PS) MPs rapid adsorption, inspired by the robustness and directional, rapid nutrient transport characteristics of hardwood vessels. The unique structure of sponge, featuring tunable oriented cellular channels and strong walls, is achieved via temperature-controlled directional freezing and double cross-linking. This structure enables the sponge to maintain high wet compressive reversibility, with a retention rate of 94.9% after 100 compression cycles. Moreover, the as-prepared sponge demonstrates a high MPs adsorption capacity of 0.26 mg·g−1. Owing to its excellent wet compressibility and adsorption performance, the sponge demonstrates remarkable cycling removal efficiency of 47.30% after 20 cycles. The experimental results together with theoretical fitting provide insight into how the hardwood-like structure and active sites of Chitosan enhance MPs adsorption. This work advances the development of efficient and sustainable MPs removal technologies using biomimetic and high-performance adsorbents and expands the insight into the MPs adsorption mechanism by chitosan-based sponge.

Simple preparation superhydrophobic melamine sponge via one-step emulsion polymerization for continuous oil/water separation in harsh environment

The oil spill and industrial oily wastewater in large quantities has caused severe harm to the environment and human health, which make an urgent requirement to develop low-cost, eco-friendly, stable performance and highly efficient oil/water separation materials. Herein, a superhydrophobic/superlipophilic melamine sponge with excellent hydrophobic stability was successfully fabricated via one-step emulsion polymerization. During polymerization, trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and polyethylene imine (PEI) form robust microspheres, and polydimethylsilane (PDMS) cross-links to form hydrophobic coating on the original sponge skeleton. The modified sponge could continuously separate various immiscible oil/water mixtures under harsh conditions (including strong acids, strong bases, salts). Even after 10 consecutive cycles, the separation efficiency for toluene and petroleum ether exceeds 99.87%. In addition, the as-prepared sponge exhibited extraordinarily high oil absorption capacities (with a maximum saturated oil absorption of 107.31 g/g for chloroform) and excellent reversible compressibility (up to 100 compression cycles). More importantly, the pore size of modified sponge was adjusted through a simple mechanical compression strategy so that the compressed sponge met the particle size screening requirements to effectively separate the surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions. Based on the simple preparation protocol, fluorine-free raw materials, and excellent properties, the MS-TMPTA/PEI-PDMS sponge presented here have extremely promising application potential in oil/water separation.

Superhydrophobic melamine sponges with high performance in oil/organic solvent sorption

The severe adverse impacts of the frequently occurring marine oil spills call for the urgent development of an efficient approach for oil spill restoration. Here, we prepared a superhydrophobic melamine sponge with water contact angle of 151.6° via a one-step dip-coating process by simply reacting the melamine sponge with stearic anhydride. The as-prepared sponge, MS-4, demonstrates excellent sorption capacities for various organic solvents such as hexane, toluene and chloroform, as well as oils including diesel, mineral oil, and crude oil, with sorption capacities ranging from 78 to 160 times its own mass. Moreover, MS-4 exhibits good recyclability with retention rate of over 93% even after 50 sorption/squeezing cycles, remarkable stability when exposed to challenging conditions such as strong acidic (pH = 1.0) and alkaline (pH = 13.0) environments, as well as high salinity environments. Additionally, MS-4 displays superb selectivity, enabling the continuous oil/water separation when assisted by a vacuum pump, achieving a high flux of approximately 106 L•m−2•h−1, while maintaining a low water content of as minimal as 30 ppm. Notably, through a facile filtration process, MS-4 achieves an exceptional demulsification efficiency of up to 99.7% for water-in-oil emulsions.

A solvent-template ethyl cellulose-polydimethylsiloxane crosslinking sponge for rapid and efficient oil adsorption

Lipophilic adsorbents for oil-water separation are usually synthesized using the template method, in which hydrophobic materials are coated on a ready-made sponge. Herein, a novel solvent-template technique is used to directly synthesize a hydrophobic sponge, by crosslinking polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with ethyl cellulose (EC) which plays a vital role in the formation of 3D porous structure. The as-prepared sponge has advantages of strong hydrophobility, high elasticity, as well as excellent adsorption performance. In addition, the sponge can be readily decorated by nano-coatings. After the sponge was simply dipped in nanosilica, the water contact angle increases from 139.2° to 144.5°, and the maximum adsorption capacity for chiroform rises from 25.6 g/g to 35.4 g/g. The adsorption equilibrium can be reached within 3 min, and, the sponge can be regenerated by squeezing, without any change in hydrophobility or evident decline in capacity. The simulation tests of emulsion separation and oil-spill cleanup demonstrate that the sponge has great potential in oil-water separation.

Facile Preparation of Durable Superhydrophobic Coating by Liquid-Phase Deposition for Versatile Oil/Water Separation

Serious damage caused by oily wastewater makes the development of efficient superhydrophobic and superoleophilic materials for oil/water separation processes critical and urgent. Herein, durable superhydrophobic nanometer-scale TiO2 grains with low-surface-energy substance composite-modified materials were fabricated by using a cost-effective and facile synthesis method for the gravity-driven separation of oil/water mixtures under harsh conditions. Different substrates, such as sawdust, wheat straw, cotton, sponge and fabric, were applied for superhydrophobic surface preparation, and various low-surface-energy reagents could interact with deposited TiO2 nanoparticles, including cetylamine, dodecanethiol, stearic acid and HDTMS. The resultant materials showed superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle (WCA) higher than 150.8°. The separation of various oil/water mixtures with high efficiency and purity was acquired by using the as-prepared sponge. More importantly, the coated sponge exhibited good resistance to various harsh environmental solutions. Moreover, its superhydrophobicity also remained even after 12 months of storage in air or 10 cycles of abrasion. The durable superhydrophobic coating prepared in this work could be practically used for the highly efficient separation of oil/water mixtures under various harsh conditions.

The superhydrophobic sponge decorated with Ni-Co double layered oxides with thiol modification for continuous oil/water separation

In this paper, the superhydrophobic polyurethane sponge (SS-PU) was facilely fabricated by etching with Jones reagent to bind the nanoparticles of Ni-Co double layered oxides (LDOs) on the surface, and following modification with n -dodecyl mercaptan (DDT). This method provides a new strategy to fabricate superhydrophobic PU sponge with a water contact angle of 157° for absorbing oil with low cost and in large scale. It exhibits the strong absorption capacity and highly selective characteristic for various kinds of oils which can be recycled by simple squeezing. Besides, the as-prepared sponge can deal with the floating and underwater oils, indicating its application value in handling oil spills and domestic oily wastewater. The good self-cleaning ability shows the potential to clear the pollutants due to the ultra-low adhesion to water. Especially, the most important point is that the superhydrophobic sponge can continuously and effectively separate the oil/water mixture against the condition of turbulent disturbance by using our designed device system, which exhibit its good superhydrophobicity, strong stability. Furthermore, the SS-PU still maintained stable absorption performance after 150 cycle tests without losing capacity obviously, showing excellent durability in long-term operation and significant potential as an efficient absorbent in large-scale dispose of oily water.

Superhydrophobic/superoleophilic modified melamine sponge for oil/water separation

In this work, an environmentally friendly, superhydrophobic and durable modified melamine sponge was fabricated through a simple two-step dipping method. Through this strategy, the active carbon (AC) particles and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were fixed on the melamine sponge skeleton with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) glue to form MS/rGO/AC/PDMS sponge, which has a multi-stage pore structure. Water contact angle (WCA) revealed that the as-prepared sponge possessed excellent water repellency up to 164°. Being applied in the field of oil/water separation, MS/rGO/AC/PDMS exhibited excellent oil-water selectivity, high oil sorption ability up to 120 g/g, and separation efficiency of over 99.85%. It is worth noting that under complex environments such as acid-base, fatigue and abrasion, the obtained sponge can maintain original properties, and the water contact angle exceeds 154°. In addition, it has good mechanical stability which can be reused and recovered continuously, making it a potential material for practical applications.

Harnessing Nickel Phthalocyanine-Based Electrochemical CNT Sponges for Ammonia Synthesis from Nitrate in Contaminated Water.

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia is of great interest in water treatment with regard to the conversion of contaminants to value-added products, which requires the development of advanced electrodes to achieve high selectivity, stability, and Faradaic efficiency (FE). Herein, nickel phthalocyanine was homogeneously doped into the fiber of a carbon nanotube (CNT) sponge, enabling the production of an electrode with high electrochemical double-layer capacitance (CDL) and a large electrochemically active surface area (ECSA). The as-prepared NiPc-CNT sponge could achieve 97.6% nitrate removal, 88.4% ammonia selectivity, and 86.8% FE at a nitrate concentration of 50 mg-N L-1 under an optimized potential of -1.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl). Meanwhile, the ammonia selectivity could be further improved at the high nitrate concentration. Density functional theory calculations showed that the exposure of Ni-N4 active sites could effectively suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction and dinitrogen generation, enhancing the ammonia selectivity and Faradaic efficiency. Overall, this work sheds light on the conversion of nitrate to ammonia on the metal phthalocyanine-based electrode, offering a novel strategy for managing nitrate in wastewater.

Reduced graphene oxide/carbon nitride composite sponge for interfacial solar water evaporation and wastewater treatment

Interfacial solar-driven steam generation has been proposed as a cost-effective green sustainable technology to alleviate the freshwater crisis. However, the desire to produce clean water from water sources containing organic contaminants is still remains a challenge due to the limitations of the traditional wastewater treatment methods. Here, we constructed a g–C3N4–based composite sponge solar steam generator (rGCPP) by a simple hydrothermal reaction. Benefiting from its low cost and easy preparation, this evaporator can be expected to be a promising candidate for the alleviation of water shortages and water pollution in practical applications. By combination of the solar steam generation and the photocatalysis into the rGCPP-based interfacial solar-driven steam generation system, the resulted rGCPP-based solar steam generator performs outstanding solar absorption of 90.8%, which achieves high evaporation rate of 1.875 kg m−2 h−1 and solar-to-vapor efficiency of 81.07% under 1 sun irradiation. Meanwhile, organic pollutants in the water source can be completely removed by photocatalytic degradation and the degradation rates were measured to be 99.20% for methylene blue and 91.07% for rhodamine B, respectively. Consequently, the as-prepared composite sponge has promising applications in generating clean water and alleviating water pollution.

Durable superhydrophobic sponge for all-weather cleanup of viscous crude oil by electrothermal and photothermal effects

Creating innovative absorbent materials with a rapid absorption rate and high absorption efficiency for viscous crude oils continues to be a global problem. Hydrophobic/oleophilic porous sorbents with light-to-heat or electric-to-heat capabilities are attractive options for crude oil clean-up, but their complicated preparation processes, poor stability, and variable weather restrict their practical usage. Herein, the light-absorbing and electrical polypyrrole and Fe3O4 are introduced to endow the melamine sponge with excellent photothermal and electrothermal properties, while the polydimethylsiloxane is coated on the surface of the sponge to make it durable, compressible, and superhydrophobic. Thanks to the superior photo/electro-heat conversion capability, the temperature of the as-prepared sponge′s surface may reach 95.9 °C under solar light with 1 kW m−2 intensity or 101.4 °C under a voltage of 11 V, making it adaptable to reduce the crude oil’s viscosity and absorb it in all weather. In addition, when the sponge is exposed to sunlight and voltage at the same time, its crude oil absorption velocity is dramatically improved and is about 107 times greater than that of an unheated sponge. Based on the eco-friendly preparation method and excellent crude oil absorption performance, this work provides a promising absorbent for the recycling of spilled crude oil.

Superhydrophobic Nanodiamond-Functionalized Melamine Sponge for Oil/Water Separation

Fabrication of absorbent materials foroil/water separation is an important ecological pursuit for oil spill clean-up and organic pollutants' removal. In this study, nanodiamonds (NDs), a promising member of the carbon family, were functionally modified by the covalent linking of octadecylamine (ODA). Subsequently, the superhydrophobic sponge with hierarchical microstructures was fabricated by embedding ND-ODA into a melamine sponge (MS) skeleton via a simple immersion-drying process. The as-prepared sponge (ND-ODA@PDMS@MS) showed superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle of 155 ± 2°. For various oils and organic solvents, ND-ODA@PDMS@MS possesses excellent absorption capacity (26.65-55.64 g/g) and oil/water separation efficiency (above 98.6%). Furthermore, the adsorption capacity to crude oil remained relatively stable in highly acidic, alkaline, and salty conditions, ensuring the application in the clean-up of industrial oily sewages and marine oil spills. Besides absorbing oil for a single time, ND-ODA@PDMS@MS also exhibited satisfactory performance in continuous oil/water separation. Therefore, this work provides a facile strategy to produce robust and efficient absorbent materials for oil/water separation in large-scale oil and organic solvent clean-ups.

A bio-inspired green method to fabricate pH-responsive sponge with switchable surface wettability for multitasking and effective oil-water separation

Smart oil-water separation materials with stimuli-responsive wettability surfaces have attracted wide attention. In this paper, a novel, simple and low-cost method is developed to prepare a pH-responsive melamine sponge (MS) with switchable wettability. This approach involves the hydrophobic modification of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) on the MS surface modified by polydopamine (PDA) and the Michael addition reaction and Schiff base reaction between 12-aminododecanoic acid (NH2(CH2)11COOH) and PDA. Hydrophobic/oleophilic HDTMS and pH-triggered NH2(CH2)11COOH enable the functionalized sponge to repeatedly switch between the two extreme wettability under different pH environments. Benefiting from the excellent 3D porous surface structure and smart wettability, the as-prepared sponge can be applied in the on-demand separation of various oil-water mixtures by adsorption or filtration with a separation efficiency over 98.5% and high absorption capacity of 72.7–161.3 g·g−1. With the assistance of pump-driven, continuous adsorption separation can be achieved in two cases by utilizing the wettability transformation. Moreover, in an alkaline solution, the sponge can quickly release most of the absorbed oil, showing a controllable desorption process. This smart wettability material with simple preparation and green has application potential in controllable oil-water separation and on-demand oil-spills treatment.

Fluorine-free fabrication of a magnetic-responsive sponge as absorbent for highly efficient and ultrafast oil-water separation

In this article, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was grafted onto the Fe3O4 particle by thermal treatment to obtain superhydrophobic powder (Fe3O4-PDMS) with magnetic response. In order to improve the adhesion between the particle and the sponge, double -layer binder include epoxy and PDMS was used. The epoxy owed good adhesion with the substrate, while the PDMS provided good hydrophobicity. The two-layer binder fastened the superhydrophobic Fe3O4-PDMS particles firmly on the sponge, endowing it with durable superhydrophobicity and high recyclability. The coated sponge showed very low adhesion and superior liquid-repellent properties. It could absorb various oils and solvents at a very fast speed, which showed high water-purification efficiency. Moreover, it presented superior magnetic-responsive property, which fast absorbed oils manipulated by the magnet. The coated sponge also absorbed various oils from oil-in-water emulsions and separated various water-in-oil emulsions with high efficiency. It also continuously and repeatedly separated oils from oil-water mixtures with a high recyclability. After it was repeated used for 100 times, its separation efficiency was still greater than 98%. This as-prepared sponge was believed to find various real applications in many fields.

Facile Preparation of Robust Superhydrophobic/Superoleophilic TiO2-Decorated Polyvinyl Alcohol Sponge for Efficient Oil/Water Separation

Oily wastewater and oil spills pose a threat to the environment and human health, and porous sponge materials are highly desired for oil/water separation. Herein, we design a new superhydrophobic/superoleophilic TiO2-decorated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge material for efficient oil/water separation. The TiO2–PVA sponge is obtained by firmly anchoring TiO2 nanoparticles onto the skeleton surface of pristine PVA sponge via the cross-linking reactions between TiO2 nanoparticles and H3BO3 and KH550, followed by the chemical modification of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane. The as-prepared TiO2–PVA sponge shows a high water contact angle of 157° (a sliding angle of 5.5°) and an oil contact angle of ∼0°, showing excellent superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity. The TiO2–PVA sponge exhibits excellent chemical stability, thermal stability, and mechanical durability in terms of immersing it in the corrosive solutions and solvents, boiling it in water, and the sandpaper abrasion test. Moreover, the as-prepared TiO2–PVA sponge possesses excellent absorption capacity of oils or organic solvents ranging from 4.3 to 13.6 times its own weight. More importantly, the as-prepared TiO2–PVA sponge can separate carbon tetrachloride from the oil–water mixture with a separation efficiency of 97.8% with the aid of gravity and maintains a separation efficiency of 96.5% even after 15 cyclic oil/water separation processes. Therefore, the rationally designed superhydrophobic/superoleophilic TiO2–PVA sponge shows great potential in practical applications of dealing with oily wastewater and oil spills.

Fast self-healing superhydrophobic sponge with all-weather heating and anti-fouling properties

The loss of superhydrophobicity due to mechanochemical damage is critical for superhydrophobic surfaces, and rapid self-healing is significant in maintaining surface durability. Herein, a novel, fast, self-healing superhydrophobic sponge capable of all-weather heating was polymerized in an eco-friendly aqueous system and dip-coated using fluorine-free and non-toxic reagents. Benefiting from the photothermal and Joule-heating performance of polyaniline (PANI) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), all-weather heating could be achieved. The equilibrium surface temperature (EST) of the as-prepared sponge could rapidly reach 105°C under irradiation of 1.0 kW/m2 for 20 s, and the EST exceeded 120°C with supplementary 18 V treatment. Impressively, after O2 plasma etching for 1 min or after being immersed in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution for 24 h, the water contact angle (WCA) of self-healing superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge (SHSPS) can be restored to 155°C under simulated sunlight for 2 min because of the rapid migration of low surface energy polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chains, which is the fastest recovery achieved to the best of our knowledge. In addition, the modified sponge exhibited a significant antifouling capability for particulate contaminants and organic pollutants, extending service life. Our preliminary results demonstrated that the modified sponge prepared in the current work is fully qualified in multiple applications, including oil-water separation, viscous oil treatment, seawater evaporation and desalination, de-icing, and anti-icing.

Superhydrophobic MS@CuO@SA sponge for oil/water separation with excellent durability and reusability

We present a superhydrophobic material based on commercially melamine sponge (MS) with great durability, recyclability, and excellent sorption performance. The fabrication process of this sponge is facile without using toxic reagents or sophisticated equipment and therefore it is simple to scale up. The CuO layer utilized to give a rough surface of the substrate (MS) was successfully prepared in a commercial microwave to seed copper nucleuses in an alkaline medium. Stearic acid (SA) plays a role as the self-assembled monolayer on the surface of the sponge skeletons. Throughout this study, the properties of the modified sponge were fully characterized, and the changes in wettability were carefully examined. Water contact angle (WCA) measurements revealed the excellent superhydrophobicity of the material with high static WCA of 165.1° and low dynamic WCA of 8°. Furthermore, the as-prepared sponge demonstrated high efficiency in separation (over 99.0%) of different oils from water. Notably, several unique properties of as-modified material were found, consisting of ultrafast sorption capacities of up to 32–52 times of its own weight by using 80 mL of each oil, outstanding reusability with good sorption capacity even after 40 cycles. Even under various harsh environments, the novel materials proved its outstanding durability and ultrafast sorption capacity of oils. The durability, recyclability, and superhydrophobic properties of the novel superhydrophobic sponge provide it a solid basis for oil-water separation applications through an ultrafast sorption capacity of oils as well as quick recovery of the oil by easy squeezing process.