Oil-Water Separation by ZnO-Based Superhydrophobic PU Sponges

摘要

Continuous oil-water separation is not only an important topic for scientific research but also for practical applications to clean oil from industrial oily wastewater and oil-spill pollution.In this work,polyurethane sponges are coated by ZnO using dip coating technique.ZnO-coated sponges are modified by stearic acid to achieve superhydrophobicity.The ZnO-coated sponges exhibit water contact angle ≈165° and oil contact angle ≈0°.The prepared superhydrophobic sponge is sustained in oil-water separation and in separation of oil-hot water mixture.Also the wetting properties of the sponge are stable in mechanical test like cutting and twisting.Stearic acid modified ZnO-coated sponge holds good promise for oil-spill cleanup as well as oil/water separation from harsh environments.