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Development of superhydrophobic, self-cleaning, and flame-resistant DLC/TiO2 melamine sponge for application in oil–water separation

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Abstract

Increasing awareness of environmental concerns has strongly pushed the scientific community towards the search for new solutions for efficient removal of oils and organic solvents from water. Here, we report the preparation of multifunctional TiO2-coated melamine-formaldehyde (MF) sponges as absorbent material for oils and organic solvents in water. TiO2-coated MF sponges were fabricated through an environmentally friendly approach, consisting in a simple immersion of the sponge into an oleic acid-capped TiO2 nanoparticles dispersion. The adhesion of TiOle coating to the sponge was then improved by the deposition of a low surface energy diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin layer. Our results highlighted that the modified MF sponges possess superhydrophobic and oleophilic behaviour, inertness to corrosive environment, good durability and reusability. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic DLC/TiO2@sponges showed (1) novel self-cleaning properties towards an absorbed commercial organic dye (IR-270BKA, chosen as representative) under visible light irradiation and (2) enhanced flame-retardant behaviour respect to the pristine MF sponge. These findings point out an important added value of DLC/TiOle@sponges making them promising candidates for wastewater treatments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Patrizia Cafarelli for BET measurements and Dr Bruno Brunetti for TG measurements. The activities have been partially performed in the framework of the Joint Bilateral Agreement CNR/NRC (Egypt), Biennial Programme 2018–2019, for the Project “Improvement of mechanical and harrier properties of biopolymer nano-composites for packaging applications”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNR-ISMN, Area della Ricerca Roma 1, Via Salaria km 29,300, 00015, Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy

    Roberta G. Toro, Pietro Calandra, Fulvio Federici, Tilde de Caro, Alessio Mezzi & Daniela Caschera

  2. Department of Physics, CNR-Nanotec, Istituto di Nanotecnologia, University Sapienza, P.Le A. Moro 2, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Barbara Cortese

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Catania and INSTM UdR di Catania, V.le A. Doria 6, 95125, Catania, Italy

    Anna Lucia Pellegrino & Graziella Malandrino

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  1. Roberta G. Toro
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Correspondence to Roberta G. Toro.

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Toro, R.G., Calandra, P., Federici, F. et al. Development of superhydrophobic, self-cleaning, and flame-resistant DLC/TiO2 melamine sponge for application in oil–water separation. J Mater Sci 55, 2846–2859 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-04211-2

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