![Sample our Physical Sciences journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110819/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Physical-Sciences.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Oil/water separation polyurethane sponge with hierarchically structured surface similar to the chemical/topological structures of lotus leaf has been successfully developed by combining mussel-inspired one-step copolymerization approach. The chemical structure, surface topography, and surface wettability of the sponge were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and contact angle experiments, respectively. The results showed that as-prepared sponge exhibited high oil absorption rate because of the expansion in oil and collapse in water of the polymer molecular brushes. Meanwhile, it also possessed high absorption capacity (20 times of the self-weight), high oil retention (93.7%), and good recyclability. It had excellent potential in practical applications.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of The Opening Project of Zhe jiang Key Laboratory of Clean Dyeing and Finishing Technology (Grant No. 1402), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. LQ15E080003), Zhejiang Provincial Public Welfare Project (Grant No. 2017C31114, 2015C31172), Shaoxing Public Welfare Project (Grant No. 2015B70006), School Research Project of Shaoxing University (Grant No. 2014LG1010), and the Scientific Research Start-up Funding of Shaoxing University (Grant No. 20145023).