One-pot room-temperature synthesis of covalent organic framework-coated superhydrophobic sponges for highly efficient oil-water separation

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2021-06, Vol.411, p.125190, Article 125190
• Main Authors: Li, Jing, Yang, Yixin, Ma, Wende, Li, Guorong, Lu, Qiaomei, Lin, Zian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Covalent organic framework; Oil-water separation; One-pot room-temperature synthesis; Superhydrophobic sponges
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125190

Frequent oil-spill accidents not only cause serious and long-term damage to marine ecosystems, but also lead to a huge loss of valuable natural resources. To lighten the environmental pollution of oil spills as quickly as possible, an efficient and environment-friendly approach for oil-water separation is highly desirable. Herein, a facile one-pot room-temperature approach was developed for large-scale fabrication of covalent organic framework-coated superhydrophobic sponges (sponges@COFs). The as-prepared sponges@COFs possessed many superior properties, including superhydrophobicity with the water contact angle of approximately 154.3°, large specific surface area (153.059 m2/g), high porosity of the network structures, as well as good mechanical and chemical stability. Taking the aformentioned advantages together, the superhydrophobic sponges showed ultra-high adsorption capacity for oil and various organic solvents. In comparision with its own weight, the adsorption amount of the sponges@COFs for silicone oil was up to 150 times and for toluene was 125 times, respectively. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic sponges also showed fast and highly efficient oil-water separation, outstanding flame retardancy and recyclability. In addition, the sponges@COFs were successfully applied to the high-efficiency removal of oil suspension from industrial waste water, firmly confirming their application prospect in industrial wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] •The sponges@COFs was synthesized via a simple one-pot room-temperature strategy.•The sponges@COFs exhibited high adsorption performance for oil and various organic solvents.•The sponges@COFs showed highly efficient oil-water separation.•Large-scale synthesis of the sponges@COFs was easily realized.