Underwater superoleophobic cellulose/acrylamide-modified magnetic polyurethane foam for efficient oil/water separation

A superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic magnetic cellulose and acrylamide-modified polyurethane foam (Fe3O4-CE-AM@PUF) was prepared for effective gravity-driven oil/water separation. The prepared mate-rials were characterized for their structure and morphology using various characterization techniques. The prepared carbohydrate polymeric composite showed excellent superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic properties with a good static underwater oil contact angle of 160 degrees. Furthermore, it exhibited remarkable oil -repellent properties in acidic, basic, and saline water. Fe3O4-CE-AM@PUF could also be used after immersion in water for 100 h, and also delivered an excellent underwater superoleophobic performance with an underwater oil contact angle of 155 degrees. Moreover, it demonstrated a high separation efficiency (>99.15%) and an excellent flux up to 31181 Lm -2h-1 for various kinds of oil-water mixtures. The separation flux and efficiency of n-Hexane have not significantly changed after 50 cycles of separation. Fe3O4-CE-AM@PUF's high porosity, super -hydrophilic, and superoleophobic properties allowed it to continuously absorb water from oils. Its magnetic properties made it easy to remove the absorbent material with a magnet.