Kapok fiber as a natural source for fabrication of oil absorbent

BACKGROUND An increasing number of oil spills has caused a rise in demand for oil sorption materials. Kapok fiber, a natural fiber, shows promising potential as an oil absorbent as it is abundantly available and exhibits high absorption capacity. Superhydrophobic kapok fiber based on graphene modified with 1H,1H,2H,2H - perfluorodecyltriclorosilane (FTS) was prepared. RESULTS FTS-modified graphene-coated kapok fibers (FGRKF) were characterized by contact angle, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. After modification, the contact angle of water on kapok fiber rose from 114.7° to 150.6°. The oil sorption capacities of kapok fiber for diesel, soybean oil and lubricating oil were 27.55, 38.28 and 43.57 g g −1 . The oil sorption capacities of FGRKF for diesel, soybean oil and lubricating oil reached 50.74, 61.08 and 68.26 g g −1 , respectively. CONCLUSION The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic FGRKF is an efficient oil sorption material, which can be used for the cleanup of oil spills. This work provides a simple method for the fabrication of superhydrophobic oil absorption material. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry