Fabrication of a dynamically flexible acrylate-based oil-adsorption network with high capacity for use in cold environments

High-capacity adsorption resins offer effective solutions for both industrial chemical applications and urgent oil spill management, yet their adsorption performance declines significantly in cold environments, limiting their practical utility. To develop an acrylate-based oil adsorption resin applicable in cold environments, a dynamically flexible (curly-like) crosslinked network was fabricated via solution polymerization using cyclohexane as the solvent. Additional pore structures were introduced by employing PMMA as a pore-forming template, while lipophilicity was enhanced through the incorporation of hydrophobic SiO₂ nanoparticles. When octadecyl methacrylate (SMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were employed as monomers, the resulted oil adsorption resin T-PSDB@SiO 2 exhibits a below-zero glass transition temperature ( Tg : −3.54 ℃), an excellent deformation capacity (>450%), and thus a remarkable adsorption capacity even at cold environments. Even at −20 ℃, its chloroform and n-hexane saturation adsorption capacity remain high, at approximately 43.37 and 12.51 g/g, which is over 80% of that at room temperature. Furthermore, the T-PSDB@SiO 2 exhibits exceptional oil-water separation efficacy (>99%) in oil-water/ice mixtures, and high oil retention capability (>99%), making it an excellent candidate for effective emergency response to chemical and oil spill incidents in cold environments.