Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Versatile fabrication of magnetic carbon fiber aerogel applied for bidirectional oil–water separation

  • Published:
Applied Physics A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fabricating functional materials that can solve environmental problems resulting from oil or organic solvent pollution is highly desired. However, expensive materials or complicated procedures and unidirectional oil–water separation hamper their applications. Herein, a magnetic superhydrophobic carbon fiber aerogel with high absorption capacity was developed by one-step pyrolysis of Fe(NO3)3-coated cotton in an argon atmosphere. The obtained aerogel can selectively collect oils from oil-polluted region by a magnet bar owing to its magnetic properties and achieves fast oil–water separation for its superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity. Furthermore, the aerogel performs recyclable oil absorption capacity even after ten cycles of oil–water separation and bears organic solvent immersion. Importantly, the obtained aerogel turns to superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic after thermal treatment, allowing it as a promising and efficient material for bidirectional oil–water separation and organic contaminants removal.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. L. Guterman, Exxon valdez turns 20. Science 323, 1558–1559 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. H.M. Choi, R.M. Cloud, SAR observation and model tracking of an oil spill event in coastal waters. Environ. Sci. Technol. 26, 772–776 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Y.C. Cheng, X.F. Li, Q. Xu, O. Garcia-Pineda, O.B. Andersen, W.G. Pichel, Natural sorbents in oil spill cleanup. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 62, 350–363 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Z.Y. Wu, C. Li, H.W. Liang, Y.N. Zhang, X. Wang, J.F. Chen, S.H. Yu, Carbon nanofiber aerogels for emergent cleanup of oil spillage and chemical leakage under harsh conditions. Sci. Rep. 4 (2014). doi:10.1038/srep04079

  5. M. Jin, J. Wang, X. Yao, M.Y. Liao, Y. Zhao, L. Jiang, Underwater oil capture by a three-dimensional network architectured organosilane surface. Adv. Mater. 23, 2861–2864 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. D.D. Nguyen, N.H. Tai, S.B. Lee, W.S. Kuo, Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties of graphene-based sponges fabricated using a facile dip coating method. Energy Environ. Sci. 5, 7908–7912 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Y. Zhao, C.G. Hu, Y. Hu, H.H. Cheng, G.Q. Shi, L.T. Qu, A. Versatile, Ultralight, nitrogen-doped graphene framework. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 124, 11533–11537 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. H.Y. Sun, Z. Xu, C. Gao, Multifunctional, ultra-flyweight, synergistically assembled carbon aerogels. Adv. Mater. 25, 2554–2560 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. N. Chen, Q.M. Pan, Versatile fabrication of ultralight magnetic foams and application for oil–water separation. ACS Nano 7, 6875–6883 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. B. Wang, R. Karthikeyan, X.Y. Lu, J. Xuan, M.K.H. Leung, Hollow carbon fibers derived from natural cotton as effective sorbents for oil spill cleanup. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 52, 18251–18261 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. S.Y. Huang, J.F. Shi, Monolithic macroporous carbon materials as high-performance and ultralow-cost sorbents for efficiently solving organic pollution. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 53, 4888–4893 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. H.C. Bi, Z.Y. Yin, X.H. Cao, X. Xie, C.L. Tan, X. Huang, B. Chen, F.T. Chen, Q.L. Yang, X.Y. Bu, X.H. Lu, L.T. Sun, H. Zhang, Carbon fiber aerogel made from raw cotton: a novel, efficient and recyclable sorbent for oils and organic solvents. Adv. Mater. 25, 5916–5921 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. X.C. Gui, J.Q. Wei, K.L. Wang, A.Y. Cao, H.W. Zhu, Y. Jia, Q.K. Shu, D.H. Wu, Carbon nanotube sponges. Adv. Mater. 22, 617–621 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Y.L. Yu, H. Chen, Y. Liu, V. Craig, L.H. Li, Y. Chen, Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic boron nitride nanotube-coated stainless steel meshes for oil and water separation. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 1 (2014). doi:10.1002/admi.201300002

  15. B.C. Li, L. Wu, L.X. Li, S. Seeger, J.P. Zhang, A.Q. Wang, Superwetting double-layer polyester materials for effective removal of both insoluble oils and soluble dyes in water. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 6, 11581–11588 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. C.N. Dai, N. Liu, Y.Z. Cao, Y.N. Chen, F. Lu, L. Feng, Fast formation of superhydrophobic octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) coating for self-cleaning and oil/water separation. Soft Matter 10, 8116–8121 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. X. Zhao, L.X. Li, B.C. Li, J.P. Zhang, A.Q. Wang, Durable superhydrophobic/superoleophilic PDMS sponges and their applications in selective oil absorption and in plugging oil leakages. J. Mater. Chem. A 2, 18281–18287 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. X.Y. Zhou, Z.Z. Zhang, X.H. Xu, X.H. Men, X.T. Zhu, Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic sponge with selective absorption and collection of oil from water. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 52, 9411–9416 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. X.T. Zhu, Z.Z. Zhang, B. Ge, X.H. Men, X.Y. Zhou, Q.J. Xue, A versatile approach to produce superhydrophobic materials used for oil–water separation. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 432, 105–108 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. J.W. Zeng, Z.G. Guo, Superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic MFI zeolite-coated film for oil/water separation. Colloids Surf. A 444, 283–288 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. J. Yang, H.G. Song, X.H. Yan, H. Tang, C.S. Li, Superhydrophilic and superoleophobic chitosan-based nanocomposite coatings for oil/water separation. Cellulose 21, 1851–1857 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. H.C. Yang, J.K. Pi, K.J. Liao, H. Huang, Q.Y. Wu, X.J. Huang, Z.K. Xu, Silica-decorated polypropylene microfiltration membranes with a mussel-inspired intermediate layer for oil-in-water emulsion separation. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 6, 12566–12572 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. W.F. Zhang, Y.Z. Cao, N. Liu, Y.N. Chen, L. Feng, A novel solution-controlled hydrogel coated mesh for oil/water separation based on monolayer electrostatic self-assembly. RSC Adv. 4, 51404–51410 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. L.X. Xu, N. Liu, Y.Z. Cao, F. Lu, Y.N. Chen, X.Y. Zhang, L. Feng, Y. Wei, Mercury ion responsive wettability and oil/water separation. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 6, 13324–13329 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. M.F. Shao, F.Y. Ning, J.W. Zhao, M. Wei, D.G. Evans, X. Duan, Preparation of Fe3O4@ SiO2@ layered double hydroxide core–shell microspheres for magnetic separation of proteins. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 1071–1077 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Q. Zhu, F. Tao, Q.M. Pan, Fast and selective removal of oils from water surface via highly hydrophobic core–shell Fe2O3@C nanoparticles under magnetic field. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2, 3141–3146 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. H.P. Cong, X.C. Ren, P. Wang, S.H. Yu, Macroscopic multifunctional graphene-based hydrogels and aerogels by a metal ion induced self-assembly process. ACS Nano 6, 2693–2703 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Z.Q. Niu, J. Chen, H.H. Hng, J. Ma, X.D. Chen, A leavening strategy to prepare reduced graphene oxide foams. Adv. Mater. 24, 4144–4150 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Y. Chu, Q.M. Pan, Three-dimensionally macroporous Fe/C nanocomposites as highly selective oil-absorption materials. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 4, 2420–2425 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51335010) and the “Western Action Program.”

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianshui Road 18th, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Li, Xiaotao Zhu, Bo Ge, Xuehu Men, Peilong Li & Zhaozhu Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Li & Bo Ge

Authors
  1. Yong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaotao Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bo Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xuehu Men
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Peilong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhaozhu Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xuehu Men or Zhaozhu Zhang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, Y., Zhu, X., Ge, B. et al. Versatile fabrication of magnetic carbon fiber aerogel applied for bidirectional oil–water separation. Appl. Phys. A 120, 949–957 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9261-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9261-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation