Superhydrophobic melamine sponge prepared by radiation induced grafting technology for efficient oil-water separation

This paper presents a superhydrophobic melamine (ME) sponge (ME-g-PLMA) prepared via high-energy radiation induced in-situ covalent grafting long alkyl chain dodecyl methacrylate (LMA) onto the ME sponge for efficient oil-water separation. The obtained ME-g-PLMA sponge have the excellent pore structure with superhydrophobic (water contact angle is 154°) and super oleophilic properties, can absorb various types of oil up to 66-168 times of its own weight. The obtained ME-g-PLMA sponge can continuously separate oil slick on water by connecting the pump or separate oil under water with a gravity-driven device. The ME-g-PLMA sponge can also maintain its highly hydrophobic properties after long-term immersion in different corrosive solutions and repeated adsorption of oil for many times. The obtained modified ME-g-PLMA sponge has excellent separation properties and has great potential for oil spill cleanup.