Compressible Carbon Nanotube/Graphene Hybrid Aerogels with Superhydrophobicity and Superoleophilicity for Oil Sorption

Han Hu , Zongbin Zhao , Yury Gogotsi , and Jieshan Qiu

Abstract

The spilled oil represents a menace to the aquatic ecosystem and the whole environment in general which requires timely cleanup. Among all the avaliable technologies, oil sorption has attracted the most attention due to its simplicity and high effectiveness. The key for the development of this technology is convenient fabrication of high-performance oil sorbents that can be used repeatedly. In this letter, a fast microwave irradiation (MWI) - mediated approach has been proposed for manufacturing multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) - graphene hybrid aerogels, in which MWCNTs are vertically anchored on the surface of cell walls of graphene aerogels.

The hybrid monoliths show superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, a large pore volume, large pore size and excellent compressibility, demonstrating outstanding performance for recyclable oil sorption.

Published: Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., Just Accepted Manuscript DOI: 10.1021/ez500021w Publication Date (Web): February 25, 2014, American Chemical Society

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