Preparation of melamine based magnetic and superhydrophobic composite sponge for efficient oil-water separation

With the advent of industrial development comes an increase in issues such as oily wastewater, oil spills, and chemical solvent leaks. Addressing the separation of oil and water in industrial oily wastewater is urgently needed. To tackle the issue of oil-water separation, researchers proposed the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces for oil-water separation. However, traditional superhydrophobic surfaces are susceptible to damage and exhibit low adsorption efficiency. This study describes how to prepare a superhydrophobic composite sponge with a simple and eco-friendly method. In this work, polyaniline (PANI), ferric oxide (Fe3O4) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are sequentially modified on melamine sponge (MS) surface through in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization and ultrasonic modification. The modified composite sponge has an optimal water contact angle (WCA) of 156.7 degrees, after absorbing methane, the mass of the sponge expands approximately by 2151 %, which demonstrates robust adsorption capabilities for various oils and organic solvents. The sponge composite has good photothermal conversion effect, and the water droplets on its surface can disappear quickly under the irradiation of xenon lamp. These special properties endow the composite sponge (MS/PANI/Fe3O4/ PDMS) potentially as a promising solution for industrial oily wastewater treatment.