Super-Hydrophobic Macroporous TPU Gels for Oil-Water Separation and Organic Pollutant Adsorption.
- 1Ningbo Key Laboratory of Agricultural Germplasm Resources Mining and Environmental Regulation, College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315300, China.
- 2School of Chemical Engineering and Life Health, NingboTech University, No. 1 South Qianhu Road, Ningbo 315100, China.
Abstract
Marine oil spills and plastic waste accumulation represent two critical environmental threats that urgently require integrated remediation strategies. In this work, we address both issues simultaneously by developing a facile, template-free, water-assisted thermally induced phase separation approach to fabricate superhydrophobic macroporous thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) gels from recycled TPU pellets. Under optimal conditions (8% TPU, 9:1 1,4-dioxane/water, 0 °C, 30 min), the gel exhibits an interconnected macroporous network with ~84% porosity and a BET surface area of 7.67 m²/g. Notably, it achieves intrinsic superhydrophobicity (150.3°) without any additives or surface modifications. The gel shows high absorption capacities (5.39-55.64 g/g), rapid kinetics (equilibrium within 15 s), and excellent recovery efficiency (>97%) in pump-assisted separation. Beyond oil/water mixtures, we systematically investigate trace organic pollutant adsorption from oil-in-water emulsions, achieving up to 97% removal efficiency. This work establishes a closed-loop "waste-to-resource" strategy, positioning recycled-TPU-derived macroporous gels as cost-effective candidates for oil spill remediation and wastewater treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{an2026superhydrophobic,
title = {{Super-Hydrophobic Macroporous TPU Gels for Oil-Water Separation and Organic Pollutant Adsorption.}},
author = {Jingjing An and Xianbo Zhou and Xuan Zhou and Yingying Wang and Zhihao Lin and Feng Xu and Zhenxing Fang},
journal = {Gels (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/gels12100866},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42929901},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Super-Hydrophobic Macroporous TPU Gels for Oil-Water Separation and Organic Pollutant Adsorption.
AU - Jingjing An
AU - Xianbo Zhou
AU - Xuan Zhou
AU - Yingying Wang
AU - Zhihao Lin
AU - Feng Xu
AU - Zhenxing Fang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Gels (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/gels12100866
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42929901
AB - Marine oil spills and plastic waste accumulation represent two critical environmental threats that urgently require integrated remediation strategies. In this work, we address both issues simultaneously by developing a facile, template-free, water-assisted thermally induced phase separation approach to fabricate superhydrophobic macroporous thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) gels from recycled TPU pellets. Under optimal conditions (8% TPU, 9:1 1,4-dioxane/water, 0 °C, 30 min), the gel exhibits an interconnected macroporous network with ~84% porosity and a BET surface area of 7.67 m²/g. Notably, it achieves intrinsic superhydrophobicity (150.3°) without any additives or surface modifications. The gel shows high absorption capacities (5.39-55.64 g/g), rapid kinetics (equilibrium within 15 s), and excellent recovery efficiency (>97%) in pump-assisted separation. Beyond oil/water mixtures, we systematically investigate trace organic pollutant adsorption from oil-in-water emulsions, achieving up to 97% removal efficiency. This work establishes a closed-loop "waste-to-resource" strategy, positioning recycled-TPU-derived macroporous gels as cost-effective candidates for oil spill remediation and wastewater treatment.
SN - 2310-2861
ER -