Preparation of Porous UHMWPE Composites with Functional Bimodal Cellular Structure and Research on its Oil Absorption Performance

Abstract Porous polymers with bimodal cellular structure have excellent hydrophobicity and structure, while preparation of porous polymers with functional bimodal cellular structures is challengeable. In this work, porous ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) composites with functional bimodal cellular structures are fabricated based on the simple and environmentally friendly supercritical carbon dioxide microfoaming technology. The thermal performance, the foaming performance of UHMWPE/PEG composites, and the oil absorption performance under various extreme environments of UHMWPE/PEG porous samples are investigated. Representative sea‐island structures are observed on the fracture surface of various UHMWPE/PEG composites by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). When the PEG content exceeds 3%, the porous UHMWPE shows a distinctive bimodal cellular structure. The results of the water contact angle test in various extreme environments indicates that the porous UHMWPE has stable hydrophobicity, exhibits good absorption performance and excellent reusability for different oils. The permeation pressure tests demonstrate that the permeation pressure of water is significantly higher than that of oil. Therefore, the functional porous UHMWPE/PEG has good application prospects in oil water separation and oil absorption.