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Bioinspired Design of Textile-Based Absorbers: Photothermal and Electrothermal Synergistic Conversion for Efficient Clean-Up of Heavy Oil

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Abstract

It is a worldwide challenge to achieve an efficient cleaning of heavy oil at ambient temperature. Conventional cleanup methods for high-viscosity oil spills exhibit low absorption efficiency and have severe practical operating limits. Herein, inspired by the passive transport process in the Salvinia cucullata, a solar-heated and joule-heated textile-based absorber using the scalable electrostatic flocking technique. Benefiting from the efficient photothermal and electrothermal conversion effects, the textile-based absorber, with oleophilic and aligned channels, facilitates thermal conduction and hence enhances heavy oil absorption. The absorber is highly efficient for organic solvents (chloroform and dichloromethane) and low-viscosity oils (silicone oil, gasoline, and diesel oil). The surface temperature of the textile absorber rises rapidly to 92 °C (114 °C) in 120 s (240 s) under one sun irradiation (or 5 V voltage), resulting in a sharp drop in the viscosity of the heavy oil and then achieving an ultrahigh absorption rate (2647 kg h−1 m−2) and fast equilibrium time (25 s). Rapid absorption rate significantly reduces spill cleanup time and spill spreading area, hence alleviating the environmental harm caused by oil spills as much as possible. The proposed solar-heated and joule-heated textile-based absorbers with aligned channels show great potential for efficient heavy oil absorption.

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Data availability

The datasets generated in this study are available from the lead contact on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities 2232023G–01, The project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 52003045, Shanghai Frontier Science Research Center for Modern Textiles, Shanghai Sailing Program 20YF1400700, and the Application Fundamental Projects of China National Textile and Apparel Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Textile Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Xin Yang, Yankuan Tian, Feng Xia, Yifei Gong, Chengming Zhang, Feng Ji, Faxue Li, Ruiyun Zhang & Tingting Gao

  2. Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Liu Liu & Jianyong Yu

  3. College of Textiles and Fashion, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Xiangtan, 411104, China

    Rong Zhou

Authors
  1. Xin Yang
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  2. Yankuan Tian
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  4. Feng Xia
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Contributions

Xin Yang: Methodology, Investigation, Writing—original draft. Yanking Tian, Feng Xia, Yifei Gong, Chengming Zhang: Investigation. Rong Zhou: Methodology, Investigation. Feng Ji, Liu Liu, Jianyong Yu: Methodology, Supervision. Faxue Li, Ruiyun Zhang, Tingting Gao: Conceptualization, Investigation, Supervision, Writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Faxue Li, Ruiyun Zhang or Tingting Gao.

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Yang, X., Tian, Y., Zhou, R. et al. Bioinspired Design of Textile-Based Absorbers: Photothermal and Electrothermal Synergistic Conversion for Efficient Clean-Up of Heavy Oil. Adv. Fiber Mater. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-024-00423-7

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