Polydopamine
as a multifunctional biomimetic polymer with nonselective
strong adhesion properties has become a hot research topic in recent
years. However, there are a few reports on the durable and effective
emulsion separation of polydopamine composites from other materials.
Therefore, it is necessary to construct durable polydopamine composites
to achieve selective adsorption of materials. In this work, polypyrrole
(PPy)-PDA was obtained on sponges by an in situ polymerization reaction,
followed by the attachment of SiO2 nanoparticles to the
surface by polydimethylsiloxane to achieve superhydrophobicity. As
a result, previously unreported selective superhydrophobic adsorbents
for PPy-PDA coatings were obtained. The prepared sponges have an excellent
adsorption capacity for oils and organic solvents. Not only can the
sponges absorb 19–39 g of organic solvents per gram but they
can also absorb oil from oil-in-water emulsions. The chemical oxygen
demand value of the emulsion can be reduced to 219 mg/L after separation.
More importantly, the performance remains good in the cycle test,
and due to the construction of a durable superhydrophobic sponge,
it can still maintain its relatively good performance in artificial
seawater, acid–base environments, and can achieve relatively
stable emulsion separation. At the same time, the potential of the
polymer material composited with PDA in lasting and stable emulsion
separation was also verified.