Polydopamine-clay functionalized Calotropis gigantea fiber: A recyclable oil-absorbing material with large lumens

ABSTRACT

A facile route was used for improving the oil-absorbing performance of Calotropis gigantea fiber (CGF) via a convenient oxidative polymerization of dopamine in the presence of attapulgite (APT) and subsequent instant immersion in an ethanolic solution of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFS). The scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with element mapping indicated that the CGF had been successfully modified by polydopamine–APT–PFS, by which a roughened surface with higher contact angle against water can be formed. Consequently, the resulting fiber showed a significant enhancement in the oil-absorbing capacity, with 99.2 g/g for blend oil, 97.7 g/g for soybean oil, and 88.4 g/g for kerosene, respectively. Compared with previous methods, this approach is convenient for the construction of a novel material with tailored morphology and functionality, and the resulting fiber shows its promising application as a highly efficient and recyclable oil-absorbing material for oily wastewater treatment.

摘要

本文提供了一种简便的方法用于提高牛角瓜纤维(CGF)的吸油性能，即在凹凸棒石(APT)存在下，经多巴胺的氧化聚合功能化改性牛角瓜纤维，之后将纤维快速浸于十三氟辛基三乙氧基硅烷(PFS)的乙醇溶液中所得。扫描电镜(SEM)和元素分布图显示，CGF被聚多巴胺-APT-PFS成功修饰，所得纤维具有粗糙的表面和较高的水接触角。因此，改性纤维对油类显示增强的吸收能力，其对调和油、大豆油和煤油的吸收能力分别为99.2 g/g、97.7 g/g和88.4 g/g。与以往的方法相比，该方法可以方便地制备出具有一定形貌和功能的新型材料，其作为一种高效、可回收的含油污水处理材料具有广阔的应用前景。

KEYWORDS:

• Calotropis gigantea fiber
• polydopamine
• attapulgite
• oil-absorbing performance
• reusability
• large lumens

关键词:

• 聚多巴胺
• 凹凸棒石
• 吸油性能
• 可重用性
• 大空腔

Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Huimin Hu (Shanghai Magic Tree Biotechnology Co., Ltd.) for providing the Calotropis gigantea fiber.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [21477135]; Gansu Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China [17JR5RA205]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [lzujbky-2017-209]; Hui-Chun Chin and Tsung-Dao Lee Chinese Undergraduate Research Endowment [LZU-JZH0028];