Fabrication and characterization of polypropylene aerogel material and aerogel coated hybrid materials for oil-water separation applications

• Published in: Progress in organic coatings 2019-12, Vol.137, p.105370, Article 105370
• Main Authors: Lang, Xian Hua, Zhu, Tong Yu, Zou, Li, Prakashan, K., Zhang, Zhen Xiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerogels; Coating; Contact angle; Hydrophobic surfaces; Hydrophobicity; Morphology; Oil-water separation; Phase separation; Polypropylene; Polyurethane resins; PP aerogel; Recyclability; Solvent extraction; Solvents; Superhydrophobic; Surface properties; Xylene
• ISSN: 0300-9440; 1873-331X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2019.105370

Sem image of PP aerogel (0.1 g/ml). As shown in above figure, PP aerogel displays three-dimensional porous network structures consisting of petal-like porous particles (15–30 μm) and the petal-like particle closely arranged together. [Display omitted] •Petal-like porous polypropylene aerogels were prepared by thermal induced phase separation(TIPS) and supercritical CO2 drying.•The PP aerogel with a porous micro-nanoscale surface morphology which showed superhydrophobicity.•The PP aerogel coated on PU sponge or PP nonwoven fabric can be used for oil-water separation application. Preparation and characterization of Polypropylene (PP) aerogel materials and aerogel coated materials with superhydrophobicity for oil-water separation application were investigated. The PP aerogel material and the coated materials were prepared from a solution of PP in xylene solvent (PP sole) by a cooling process, which resulted in the thermally induced phase separation of the polypropylene molecular network and further solvent extraction from the molecular network by a supercritical CO2 drying process. The PP aerogel displayed a porous surface morphology with flower petals like micro-nanoscale structural features. The aerogel materials showed superhydrophobicity with contact angle greater than 150°. Further the aerogel was coated on a polyurethane sponge material and a PP nonwoven fabric materials to prepare hybrid materials having a aerogel surface characteristics. The effectiveness and recyclability of the PP aerogel and the aerogel coated hybrid material for oil-water separation was investigated using model oil solvents. The study revealed the high potential of these materials in oil-water separation applications and these could be inexpensive replacement to the available alternatives.