Oil contamination to water streams is a serious environmental issue, and polymer nanocomposites are extensively applied in selectively removing the contaminants. The current study deals with the oil removing capability of polymer nanocomposites containing halloysite nanotubes (HNT) based on two different polymer matrices- polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyledene fluoride (PVDF). Since the surface nature influences the contact angle and thus the hydrophobicity, porosity was induced to the materials through specific fabrication technique. Sugar cube templating was adopted for the nanocomposite preparation, and the template removal created nanocomposite sponges with enhanced surface roughness. This increased the contact angle and the fabricated sponges immediately absorbed the oil, showing superoleophilicity. Effect of HNT concentration on the water filtering capacity was also investigated by measuring the total organic content of contaminated and filtered water. Both the percentage of oil absorption and reduction in TOC were higher for the HNT containing polymer composites compared to the neat polymer. This ensures the maximum oil removing ability of the PVDF/HNT and PS/HNT nanocomposite systems. Absorbed oil is collected by mechanically pressing the sponges and later washed the sponges by immersing in 0.1M NaOH. Oil water emulsions are also separable by the fabricated polymer nanocomposite sponges.

Smart polymer nanocomposite sponges for highly efficient oil/water separation

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.