Superhydrophobic and Conductive Foams with Antifouling and Oil-Water Separation Properties

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials are attracting enormous interest in materials science due to the combination of multiple advantageous properties of both organic and inorganic components. Taking advantage of a simple, scalable, solvent-free hard-sacrificial method, we report the successful fabrication of three-dimensional hybrid porous foams by integrating two types of fillers into a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) framework. These fillers consist of hydrophobic electrically conductive graphene (GR) nanoplatelets and hydrophobic bactericidal copper (Cu) microparticles. The fillers were utilized to create the hierarchical rough structure with low-surface-energy properties on the PDMS foam surfaces, leading to remarkable superhydrophobicity/ superoleophilicity with contact angles of 158 and 0 degrees for water and oil, respectively. The three-dimensional interconnected porous foam structures facilitated high oil adsorption capacity and excellent reusability as well as highly efficient oil/organic solvent-water separation in turbulent, corrosive, and saline environments. Moreover, the introduction of the fillers led to a significant improvement in the electrical conductivity and biofouling resistance (vs whole blood, fibrinogen, platelet cells, and Escherichia coli) of the foams. We envision that the developed composite strategy will pave a facile, scalable, and effective way for fabricating novel multifunctional hybrid materials with ideal properties that may find potential use in a broad range of biomedical, energy, and environmental applications.

Automated summary

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials with desirable properties were successfully fabricated through a simple, scalable, solvent-free method. The resulting three-dimensional porous foams exhibited superhydrophobic/superoleophilic properties, high oil adsorption capacity, and excellent oil/water separation efficiency in harsh environments. Additionally, the introduction of fillers led to improved electrical conductivity and biofouling resistance of the foams. This composite strategy opens up new possibilities for the development of multifunctional hybrid materials for diverse applications.