Nonfluorinated Hydrophobic Porous Composite for Efficient Recovery of Oil from Oil–Water Emulsion and for Oil Spills Clean-up from Seawater

Abstract

Leakage of oils in water bodies is a common phenomenon due to enhanced industrialization. Herein, we have fabricated a composite material IPMOP-PA@Foam through the in situ coating of a melamine foam with a nonfluorinated superhydrophobic chemically robust metal–organic polyhedron (IPMOP-PA) at room temperature. IPMOP-PA owing to its excellent solution processability is coated homogeneously on melamine foam showing good consistency and sustainability in its performance. The composite was capable of producing multiway separation of oil from various aquatic challenges. IPMOP-PA@Foam had the potential to separate a very thin layer of oil, as well as very tiny droplets of oils from marine water. Moreover, IPMOP-PA@Foam was proficient in separating oils from complicated aqueous environments like oil–water emulsions. In addition to being extremely important from an industrial standpoint, this work investigates a novel approach to the basic design of a composite material for real-time oil–water separation applications in challenging aquatic settings.