A novel carbon nanotubes reinforced superhydrophobic and superoleophilic polyurethane sponge for selective oil-water separation through a chemical fabrication

Oil spillage and industrial oily wastewater have caused severe environmental concerns. A super absorbent material capable of separating oil-water mixtures, especially with a high absorption capacity and mechanical strength, is urgently desired. Here, a common and feasible approach to fabricate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced polyurethane (PU) sponge is presented that shows superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties. The method involves the oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine and the reaction of hydrophilic polydopamine (PDA) with hydrophobic octadecylamine (ODA). The superhydrophobic stability of the as-prepared sponge with temperatures and in corrosive solutions of different pH is investigated. The as-prepared sponge could quickly and selectively absorb various kinds of oils up to 34.9 times of its own weight, and the absorbed oils can be collected by a simple squeezing process. More interestingly, the mechanical strength of the as-prepared sponge is improved due to the structural reinforcement of CNTs anchored on the sponge skeleton. Furthermore, the recovered sponge could be reused to separate oil-water mixture 150 times while maintaining its high absorption capacity. This promising multifunctional sponge exhibits significant potential as an efficient absorbent in large-scale oil-water separation applications. A novel carbon nanotubes reinforced polyurethane sponge with superhydrophobic, superoleophilic and high mechanical properties shows potential for applications in oil-water separation.