Superhydrophobic sponge with the rod-spherical microstructure via palygorskite-catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of vinyltriethoxysilane for oil-water separation

In this study, the unmodified PAL could catalyze the hydrolysis and condensation of vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) to construct a novel superhydrophobic sponge possessing the rod-spherical microstructure. After the hydrophobic modification of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (C 16 TMS), a superhydrophobic sponge with a rod-spherical microstructure (C 16 TMS/PAL-VSiO 2 /MS) was prepared, and characterized by SEM, TEM , FTIR , XPS , stress-strain, contact angle. And it showed a novel structure and excellent properties, such as outstanding elasticity (32.8 kPa), superior hydrophobic property (water contact angle of 154.1 o , and water sliding angle of 4.2 o ). In the process of oil-water separation, C 16 TMS/PAL-VSiO 2 /MS exhibited the optimal adsorption capacity of 128 ± 3 g/g of dichloroethane and the excellent separation efficiency exceeding 99.0%. It was noteworthy that the adsorption capacity and WCA did not drop significantly after 20 cycles of repeated adsorption. C 16 TMS/PAL-VSiO 2 /MS would be a promising material in oil-water separation, because of the excellent separation efficiency and the simple, economical, and easily scalable preparation method.