Robust superhydrophobic/superoleophilic sponge for efficient removal of oils from corrosive aqueous solutions

Separation of oil/water mixtures became a significant worldwide issue because of the frequent oil leakage incidents in marine. Herein, a robust superhydrophobic/superoleophilic porous polyurethane (PU) sponge was fabricated just by simple one-step procedure of dip-coating of OTS. The modified PU sponges possessed a superhydrophobicity with water contact angles (CAs) exceeding 156°. The as-prepared sponge exhibited high oil adsorption capacity, robust recyclability for oil/water separation even under strong acid, alkali and salt conditions. Furthermore, when the as-prepared sponge was connected to a vacuum system, the sponge could efficiently remove up to 100?mL kerosene within 25?s under a vacuum of 30?kPa. The simple fabrication process and favorable durability make the sponge a promising candidate for using in a large-scale marine oil leakage clean-up.