J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2023, Vol. 158: 77-85.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2023.02.023

• Research article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Biomimetic, fire-resistant, ultralight and porous carbon fiber sponges enabling safe and efficient remediation of crude oil spills in harsh environments

Yushan Lia,1, Songjun Yaoa,1, Song Yana, Mei Xua, Long Zhenga,b,c,*, Fei Pand, Yeqiang Tane,**, Xianze Yina,e,*   

  1. aCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials & Advanced Processing Technology, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China;
    bNational Local Joint Laboratory for Advanced Textile Processing and Clean Production, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China;
    cEngineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Clean Production of Textile Printing and Dyeing, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China;
    dCollege of School of Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China;
    eState Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Biobased Fiber and Ecological Textile Technology Institute of Marine Biobased Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
  • Received:2022-12-13 Revised:2023-02-08 Accepted:2023-02-14 Published:2023-09-20 Online:2023-09-15
  • Contact: *College of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials & Advanced Processing Technology, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China.**E-mail address:lzheng@wtu.edu.cn (L. Zheng), tanyeqiang@qdu.edu.cn (Y. Tan), yinxianze@wtu.edu.cn (X. Yin)
  • About author:1 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Advanced absorbents must meet the requirements of superior hydrophobic/oleophilic behavior, favorable adsorption efficiency, and high photothermal and Joule heating performance to handle frequent crude oil spills. However, current carbon-based absorbents suffer from poor fire resistance, thus severely limiting their application in harsh environments. Herein, inspired by a bird's nest, a polymer “welding” strategy is proposed to design a versatile absorbent in which the polymer serves as a “binder” to interconnect discontinuous fibers together to form a 3D welded structure. The continuous conductive networks endow the absorbent with high photothermal and Joule heating effect, thus achieving all-weather adsorption, and improving the adsorption efficiency of crude oil via the self-heating function. Compared with other absorbents, the absorbent prepared via polymer welding technology exhibited preferable comprehensive performance, such as superhydrophobicity, high fire resistance, and high absorption efficiency. Specially, the noninflammable absorbent can restrain the combustion of crude oil, thereby reducing its combustion in case of fire. The versatile absorbent is expected to provide a promising solution for the safe and efficient cleanup of crude oil spills in harsh environments. Overall, the unique polymer welding strategy can be developed into a universal strategy for other material systems to expand their applications.

Key words: Polymer welding strategy, Photothermal effect, Joule heating effect, Fire resistance, Crude oil recovery