Superhydrophobic/superoleophilic micro/nanostructure nickel particles for oil/water mixture and emulsion separation

Nowadays, developing reusable and highly efficient materials for separating nano/micro-sized oil droplets from oil/water mixture and emulsion remains very challenging. Herein, hedgehog-like micro/nanostructure nickel particles were fabricated via a hydrothermal route. Thanks to its unique morphology, the octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS)-modified nickel particles show suitable superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity properties with water contact angle, oil contact angle, and contact angle hysteresis values of 169.17° ± 2.13°, 0°, and 2.32°± 0.34°, respectively, making the potential sorbent for oil/water separation. The dense narrow thorns of superhydrophobic/superoleophilic nickel particles help the maximum scattering of particles on the surface and in the solutions. Hence, superhydrophobic/superoleophilic nickel particles demonstrated outstanding sorption capacity ranging from 3.86 to 5.27 (g/g) for a wide range of organic solvents and oils. Also, sorption capacities were retained even after 10 sorption cycles. Additionally, sorption capacities remain steady under acidic, alkaline, and high-saline conditions, indicating the high resistance in the harsh media. More importantly, ODTS-modified particles could also be used in oil/water emulsion separation with efficiencies of higher 99%. The appropriate resistance of hedgehog-like micro/nanostructure nickel particles to various environmental conditions as well as reusability and recyclability provides good opportunities for industrial applications of oil uptake from the oil/water mixture and emulsion.