Three-dimensional hydrophobic melamine@methyl trichlorosilane/polydimethylsiloxane sponge for consecutive and long-term oil/water separation

Herein, a melamine sponge is adopted as the skeleton to be modified by both methyl trichlorosilane (MTS) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the surface, fabricating the 3D porous Mel@MTS/PDMS sponge. Systemic investigations reveal that MTS self-assembles into many micro-nano particles to roughen the surface of the melamine matrix, thus greatly increasing its hydrophobicity. PDMS tightly anchors those MTS particles via forming a surface coating. Therefore, the resultant Mel@MTS/PDMS sponge exhibits the superior oil-adsorbed capacity, good hydrophobicity, and great structural and mechanical stability. Based on this Mel@MTS/PDMS sponge, a consecutive oil/water separation system is successfully built and induces the continuous recovery of oil under various simulated oil–water separation conditions. Obviously, this 3D hydrophobic Mel@MTS/PDMS sponge and corresponding consecutive oil/water separation device provide a promising application strategy in the leaked oil recovery and environmental purification.