A natural armor-protected absorbent from discarded durian peel with rapid and recyclable absorption, high oil retention and self-cleaning ability

How to use simple and effective methods to achieve the recycling of discarded durian shell (DP) is still a huge challenge. Herein, the one-step in situ hydrophobic modification method based on self-generated surface roughness of low surface energy polysiloxane nanofilaments is proposed to prepare natural armor-protecting absorbent from discarded DP while imparting the absorbent versatility. This method gives the absorbent outstanding oil-water selectivity . For the absorption of chloroform , the absorbent can reach the absorption equilibrium in only 10 s, holding rapid absorption kinetics. The absorbent also shows a good recyclability and high oil retention capacity. In addition, the hydrophobicity also allows the absorbent to remove particulate pollutants from the surface, holding exceptional self-cleaning ability. Direct turning the pristine DP into the multifunctional material provides simpler preparation process, which can be used as a new design idea for the practical application of the DP.