Hydrophobic and fire-resistant carbon monolith from melamine sponge: A recyclable sorbent for oil-water separation

Here we report a new strategy for fabrication of macro/mesoporous carbon monolith from commercially available and low-cost melamine sponge. This synthesis route involves the cooperative self-assembly and coating of block copolymer mixed with resol on the melamine sponge, followed by pyrolysis at different temperatures. The as-fabricated carbon monolith exhibits high porosity and excellent hydrophobicity, thus can be used as a potential sorbent for the removal of oil from water. The intrinsic fire-resistant property of obtained carbon monolith makes it a recyclable sorbent for oil-water separation. More importantly, benefiting from the low-cost, available raw material and simple synthesis route, the production of the carbon monolith can be easily scaled up. This work offers a simple pathway to prepare carbon monolith, which is a promising candidate in the field of oil spill cleanup.