Green and Rapid Preparation of Fluorosilicone Rubber Foam Materials with Tunable Chemical Resistance for Efficient Oil–Water Separation

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) foam materials with lightweight, excellent oil resistance and mechanical flexibility are highly needed for various practical applications in aerospace, transportation, and oil/water separation. However, traditional PDMS foam materials usually present poor chemical resistance and easily swell in various solvents, which greatly limits their potential application. Herein, novel fluorosilicone rubber foam (FSiRF) materials with different contents of trifluoropropyl lateral groups were designed and fabricated by a green (no solvents used) and rapid (<10 min foaming process) foaming/crosslinking approach at ambient temperature. Typically, vinyl-terminated poly(dimethyl-co-methyltrifluoropropyl) siloxanes with different fluorine contents of 0–50 mol% were obtained through ring-opening polymerization to effectively adjust the chemical resistance of the FSiRFs. Notably, the optimized FSiRF samples exhibit lightweight (~0.25 g/cm−3), excellent hydrophobicity/oleophilicity (WCA > 120°), reliable mechanical flexibility (complete recovery ability after stretching of 130% strain or compressing of >60%), and improved chemical resistance and structural stability in various solvents, making them promising candidates for efficient and continuous oil–water separation. This work provides an innovative concept to design and prepare advanced fluorosilicone rubber foam materials with excellent chemical resistance for potential oil–water separation application.

Facile Synthesis of Hollow Glass Microsphere Filled PDMS Foam Composites with Exceptional Lightweight, Mechanical Flexibility, and Thermal Insulating Property

“…It is hypothesized that a higher amount of m-HM in the PDMS phase could inhibit the curing reaction rate between Si-H of PDMS-H and Si-vi of PDMS-Ph-vi [ 49 ]. As in previous studies, the most significant factor was the balance of the reaction rates of foaming and cross-linking [ 50 , 51 ]. Due to the slower curing process, hydrogen gas from the dehydrogenation reaction between Si-OH of PDMS-Ph-OH or H 2 O and Si-H of PDMS-H converges into more giant bubbles or escapes directly into the air, which leads subsequently to obtaining the SiRF foam composites with an irregular network structure and a relatively high density ( Figure 4 e,f).…”

Lightweight and flame retardant fluorosilicone rubber composited foam prepared by supercritical nitrogen

“…Because the presence of trifluoropropyl groups in FSR increased the polarity of the molecule, thereby preventing non-polar molecules from diffusing into it. 1…”

“…Fluorosilicone rubber (FSR) is a kind of specialty elastomer that excels in high-temperature stability, chemical as well as oil and organic solvent resistance, which has a wide temperature usage range (À60 C to 220 C). 1 The lightweight FSR foam is extensively used in modern high-precision industries such as aerospace, automobile manufacturing and petrochemical equipment, whose importance in defense and aerospace application is irreplacable. [2][3][4] However, FSR foam is flammable and its working environment is featured with high concentration of flammable oils and organic solvents, as well as high temperature which further increases the probability of fire.…”

“…Fluorosilicone rubber (FSR) is a kind of specialty elastomer that excels in high‐temperature stability, chemical as well as oil and organic solvent resistance, which has a wide temperature usage range (−60°C to 220°C) 1 . The lightweight FSR foam is extensively used in modern high‐precision industries such as aerospace, automobile manufacturing and petrochemical equipment, whose importance in defense and aerospace application is irreplacable 2–4 .…”

Bio-Based Porous Aerogel with Bionic Structure and Hydrophobic Polymer Coating for Efficient Absorption of Oil/Organic Liquids

“…Tremendous efforts have been made to improve surface hydrophobicity through the application of some low-surface-energy polymers [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. In spite of the important progress in developing materials with excellent hydrophobicity for oil-water separation, there are certain drawbacks, such as applying fluoro-containing chemicals and low durability in harsh conditions, which have restricted the widespread application of these functional adsorbents [ 19 ].…”