Facile fabrication of an elastics maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene monolith for oil/water separation

In this study, we report the fabrication of a highly elastic and macroporous monolith from a maleic anhydride (MAH)-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH), which is a low-cost raw material. Simple cooling a PP-g-MAH solution in a mixed solvent of decalin and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone forms a porous physical gel. A monolith was obtained upon exchanging the embedded solvent molecules with acetone. The monolith shows a fibrous network structure with tunable average pore sizes from sub-1 to 10 µm. In addition, the monolith exhibits a good elasticity with the ability to sustain a stress of 600 kilopascal at a strain of 30% and recover almost completely to the initial state when the stress is removed. Moreover, the monolith demonstrates high hydrophobicity (a water contact angle of 132°) and super oleophilicity. Based on the above superior characterizations of the monolith, we further proved that it is a good substrate for oil/water separation.Graphical abstract
Source: Materials Today Communications - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research