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Organogelator–Cellulose Composite for Practical and Eco‐Friendly Marine Oil‐Spill Recovery
Author(s) -
Prathap Annamalai,
Sureshan Kana M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201704699
Subject(s) - sorbent , cellulose , oil spill , chemical engineering , composite number , covalent bond , materials science , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , adsorption , environmental science , environmental protection , engineering
Marine oil spills pose serious threats to the ecosystem and economy. There is much interest in developing sorbents that can tackle such spills. We have developed a novel sorbent by impregnating cellulose pulp with a sugar‐derived oleogelator, 1,2:5,6‐di‐ O ‐cyclohexylidene‐mannitol. The gelator molecules mask the surface‐exposed hydroxyl groups of cellulose fibrils by engaging them in H‐bonding and expose their hydrophobic parts making the fibers temporarily hydrophobic (water contact angle 110°). This sorbent absorbs oil effectively, selectively and instantly from oil–water mixtures due to its hydrophobicity. Then the gelator molecules get released uniformly in the oil and later self‐assemble to fibers, as evident from SEM analysis, congealing the oil within the matrix. This hierarchical entrapment of the oil by non‐covalent polymeric fibers within a covalent polymer matrix makes the gel very strong (230‐fold increase in the yield stress) and rigid, making it suitable for practical use.