Facile Fabrication of Marine Algae-Based Robust Superhydrophobic Sponges for Efficient Oil Removal from Water

Water pollution caused by oil spillages has aroused worldwide attention. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop low-cost, environmentally friendly materials to remove oil contaminants from water. Herein, a “green” superhydrophobic sponge made from marine algae was fabricated by one-step growth of silicone nanofilaments onto a AgNP-decorated alginate sponge via chemical vapor deposition of an azeotrope of (CH₃)₃SiCl and SiCl₄. The reaction of the azeotrope with the alginate sponge was termed “instant”, as it took only a few minutes (5 min) at room temperature to achieve superhydrophobicity (152.0°). Such sponges resist high temperatures, UV irradiation, organic solvents, and mechanical abrasion without losing the superhydrophobicity. The sponges absorbed oil droplets within seconds (1.3–7.0 s) with 11.7–17.1 g/g of sorption capacities for oils of different viscous levels (0.56–1775.00 mPa·s). These sponges could retain 90% of the initial oil sorption capacities after 10 consecutive oil sorption/desorption cycles. Benefiting from the superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, the sponges also exhibited high efficiency in oil/water mixture separation. Once the oil/water mixture was injected into the sponge, oil drops were retained in inner pores while water was rejected and spouted from the surface. These excellent performances make the resultant sponge a competitive material for oil spill emergency remediation.