Reversible wettability switching of melamine sponges for oil/water separation

In this work, octadecylphosphonic acid (ODP)-co-titanium dioxide (TiO2) melamine sponge (OT-MS) with superhydmphobicity/superoleophilicity was fabricated by TiO2 particles deposition and followed by ODP solution decoration on the melamine sponge (MS). Under UV light, the wettability of OT-MS converted from superhydmphobicity to superhydmphilicity due to the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. After re-dipping the superhydmphilic OT-MS into ODP solution, the wettability recovered to superhydrophobicity. In addition, OTMS has excellent absorption capacities, selectivity, and recyclability to different oils and organic solvents, which endowed considerable adaptability and practicability to a wide application in the oil/water emulsion separation.

Automated summary

In this study, a superhydrophobic/superoleophilic ODP-TiO2 melamine sponge was fabricated, which exhibited a transition in wettability under UV light and excellent absorption capacities, selectivity, and recyclability for various oils, making it suitable for a wide range of oil/water emulsion separation applications.