Facile and Scalable Fabrication of Porous Polystyrene\nFibers for Oil Removal by Centrifugal Spinning

Abstract

The\ndemand for an efficient oil sorbent with high sorption capacity,\nlow cost, scalable fabrication, and high selectivity for the cleanup\nof spreading oil on water is increasingly urgent due to the frequent\noccurrence of oil spill accidents in seawater all over the world.\nIn this study, porous polystyrene (PS) fibers with high hydrophobicity\nand superoleophilicity were directly fabricated by a centrifugal spinning\nmethod (CS). The effect of solvents, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dimethylformamide\n(DMF) on the morphology and porous structure of the polystyrene fibers\nwas evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption\nexperiments. The formation mechanism for the porous structure on the\nfibers was also evaluated. The oil sorption capacities of the PS fibers\nfor silicon oil, pump oil, and vegetable oil were investigated. The\nhighest oil sorption capacity was found in PS fibers fabricated from\nPS solution with a THF/DMF weight ratio of 1/3, which exhibited the\nhighest specific surface area, pore volume, and porosity. The high\nproductivity and highly porous structure of PS fibers indicate that\nCS is a promising method to fabricate porous fibers for the cleanup\nof oil spills.