Modified Cotton Sponge with Bio-Based Polybenzoxazine for Plasticizer Absorption and Oil–Water Separation
Thirukumaran Periyasamy, Shakila Parveen Asrafali, Rajesh Haldhar, Santhamoorthy Madhappan, V. Ramkumar, Chaitany Jayprakash Raorane, Seong‐Cheol Kim
Abstract
Plastic pollution in the marine environment and oily wastewater generated in industry are now recognized as a real threat, as they adversely affect the environment and cause health issues to living organisms as well. Nevertheless, the current methods for both oil/water separation and plasticizer removal are complex and costly. In this regard, a low-cost and environment-friendly superhydrophobic/superoleophilic material has been developed. Cotton sponge (CS) coated with polybenzoxazine (Pbz) and stearic acid-functionalized carbon balls (CBS) [i.e., CS-Pbz-CBS] acts as a superhydrophobic/oleophilic material. By employing surface modification of CS with Pbz-CBS, the hydrophilic CS gets transformed into superhydrophobic CS-Pbz-CBS possessing a water contact angle of 153°. A surface morphological study indicated the selective wettability produced by CS-Pbz-CBS materials as a result of tuning their surface composition and surface roughness as well. In addition to it, the prepared material CS-Pbz-CBS (6%) also possesses excellent mechanical durability, exhibits fast and efficient separation of oil–water mixtures, and can act as an effective material for plasticizer removal. Moreover, the prepared material, CS-Pbz-CBS (6%), has a volumetric absorption capacity, Qw(v/v), of 83.51 for CHCl3 and provides a 95% separation efficiency for oil/water mixtures. The detailed investigation related to the preparation of these materials and their applicability in oil/water separation and plasticizer removal is analyzed.