Superhydrophobic kapok fiber oil-absorbent: Preparation and high oil absorbency

Superhydrophobic and oleophilic oil sorbent was successfully prepared by the incorporation of silica nanoparticles onto kapok fiber via sol–gel method and subsequent hydrophobic modification using hydrolyzed dodecyltrimethoxysilane (DTMS). The formation of silica nanoparticles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and investigation of the wetting behavior of water and oil on fiber surface. The coated fiber exhibited excellent oil/water selectivity in the cleanup of oil over water. The as-prepared fiber can quickly absorb diesel and soybean oil up to above 46.9 and 58.8 g/g, with the improvement in oil sorption capacity to be 46.6% and 20.2% compared with raw fiber, respectively. Owing to high oil sorption capacity, excellent hydrophobic property and reusability, and good environmental friendliness, the as-prepared oil sorbent can be considered as promising alternative for organic synthetic fiber to clean up the spilled oil.

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► Superhydrophobic kapok fiber was prepared via sol–gel method and used for oil sorption.
► The modified kapok fiber is covered by silica nanoparticles and surface become rough.
► The modified kapok fiber have high oil sorption capacity and oil–water separation selectivity.
► The modified kapok fiber have the capability of removing oil in oil/water mixture.