Hydrophobic surface modification of FMSS and its application as effective sorbents for oil spill clean‐ups and recovery

Surface Wettability Tuning of Acrylic Resin Photoresist and Its Aging Performance

Photoresist is the key material in the fabrication of micropatterns or microstructures. Tuning the surface wettability of photoresist film is a critical consideration in its application of microfluidics. In this work, the surface wettability tuning of acrylic resin photoresist by oxygen plasma or ultra-violet/ozone, and its aging performance in different atmospheres, were systematically studied. The chemical and physical characterizations of the surfaces before and after modification show a dramatic decrease in the C–C group and increase in surface roughness for oxygen plasma treatment, while a decrease of the C–C group was found for the UV/ozone treatment. The above difference in the surface tuning mechanism may explain the stronger hydrophilic modification effect of oxygen plasma. In addition, we found an obvious fading of the wettability tuning effect with an environment-related aging speed, which can also be featured by the decrease of the C–C group. This study demonstrates the dominated chemical and physical changes during surface wettability tuning and its aging process, and provides basis for surface tuning and the applications in microfluidics.

In situ self-foaming preparation of hydrophobic polyurethane foams for oil/water separation

Polyurethane foams with excellent oil–water separation performance were prepared using hydrophobic raw materials with the assistance of a physical cooling agent.

Construction of hydrophobic alginate-based foams induced by zirconium ions for oil and organic solvent cleanup

Hydrophobic modification of sodium alginate (SA) foams via a simple freeze-drying and post cross-linking induced by zirconium (Zr) ions was developed. All results demonstrated that Zr ions not only constructed surface microstructure but also lowered surface energy of foams, leading to the hydrophobic character. Hydrophobic and oleophilic foams showed excellent adsorption capacities for different oils and organic solvents (11.2-25.9 g/g). Furthermore, SA solution can be also coated on porous substrates, such as melamine sponges (MS) and Nylon strainers (NS), to give hydrophobic modification by Zr ion crosslinking. These excellent performances made them a promising for oil adsorption and cleanup.