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In situ synthesis of three-dimensional electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofiber network reinforced silica aerogel for high-efficiency oil/water separation

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Abstract

In situ electrospun 3D polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber-reinforced (EPNR) silica aerogel monoliths were prepared through methyltriethoxysilane–trimethylchlorosilane modification followed by ambient pressure drying (APD). The 3D PAN nanofiber network was built into silica sol by liquid-assisted collection. Homodispersed and intertwined PAN nanofibers were well incorporated into the silica aerogel matrix. The APD-EPNR silica aerogel had a porosity of 90.9% and a BJH pore volume of 2.15 cm3 g−1. Furthermore, the APD-EPNR silica aerogel monolith showed excellent flexibility and revealed a highly hydrophobic surface with a water contact angle of 145º. The APD-EPNR aerogel was suitable for removal of oil from water. The static mass of the APD-EPNR silica aerogel achieved 700%–1500% to various solvents and the aerogel can be recovered without obvious performance decline. The APD-EPNR silica aerogel mat also achieved oil/water separation with a separation efficiency of more than 99%. Hence, the prepared APD-EPNR silica aerogel has promising application for treatment of oil pollution.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52370122), the STS Project of Science and Technology Program of Fujian Province (No. 2023T3014), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Fujian Province (No. 2021H0050), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2019307), the Science and Technology planning Project of Xiamen City (No. 3502Z20191021), the Science and Technology Innovation “2025” major program in Ningbo (No. 2022Z028).

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  1. Yi-Ming Li and Fang Liu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China

    Yi-Ming Li, Zhen-Zhen Jia & Xuan Cheng

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, Fujian, China

    Yi-Ming Li, Fang Liu, Zhen-Zhen Jia, Yu-Ming Zheng & Zai-Dong Shao

  3. Fujian Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China

    Xuan Cheng

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Yi-Ming Li: Data curation, Writing—original draft. Fang Liu: Data curation, Writing—original draft. Zhen-Zhen Jia: Investigation. Xuan Cheng: Investigation. Yu-Ming Zheng: Investigation, Funding acquisition. Zai-Dong Shao: Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition.

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Li, YM., Liu, F., Jia, ZZ. et al. In situ synthesis of three-dimensional electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofiber network reinforced silica aerogel for high-efficiency oil/water separation. J Porous Mater (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-024-01625-5

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