Superhydrophobic Thermoplastic Polyurethane Foam Fabricated by Phase Separation and Silica Coating for Oil/Water Separation.

Oil spills and the presence of oily wastewater have resulted in substantial ecological damage. Superhydrophobic polymer foam with selectivity and adsorption capacity is a promising candidate for efficient oil-water separation. In this study, we propose a method that combines phase separation and silica coating to produce superhydrophobic TPU foam. The TPU foam demonstrates superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 155.62°, and exhibits a maximum saturated adsorption capacity of 54.11 g g -1 . Furthermore, the foam can be utilized as a filter for oil-water separation, maintaining its filtration efficiency (41.2 m 3 m 2 h -1 ) even after ten filtration cycles. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.