Xiaomin Ye1, Changmin Shao2, Qihui Fan3, Luoran Shang4, Fangfu Ye5. 1. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.8 South 3rd Street Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190, China; School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1 Yanqihu East Road, Huairou District, Beijing 100049, China. 2. Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1 Jianlian Road, Longwan District, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325001, China. 3. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.8 South 3rd Street Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190, China. Electronic address: fanqh@iphy.ac.cn. 4. Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, International Co-laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology), Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, No.131 Dongan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: luoranshang@fudan.edu.cn. 5. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.8 South 3rd Street Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190, China; School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1 Yanqihu East Road, Huairou District, Beijing 100049, China; Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1 Jianlian Road, Longwan District, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325001, China; Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Songshan Lake Scenic Area, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China; Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), No.1 Jianlian Road, Longwan District, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325001, China. Electronic address: fye@iphy.ac.cn.
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS: Oil adsorption is significant for water purification and environmental protection. However, the conventional bulk sorbents face the predicament of uncontrollable motion as well as hydrophobic nature the whole body, which largely restricts their uptake capacity underwater. Hence, novel adsorbent material for high-efficient oil uptake both at the surface and under the water is urgently required. EXPERIMENTS: We presented a phase-transition lysozyme coating approach to fabricate porous carbon nanotube microspheres with tailorable surface wettability areas for versatile oil adsorption. Because of the existence of magnetic nanoparticle in one hemisphere, the multi-sites coating was easily achieved by constantly changing orientations of the magnetic field. Owing to the integration of various hydrophilic functional groups in lysozyme as well as remarkable adhesion to virtually arbitrary materials, the intrinsically hydrophobic surface of the microspheres was partially modified hydrophilic on multiple sites. FINDINGS: It was demonstrated that the unique surface wettability feature and the porous structure enabled the microspheres to adsorb multiple contaminants both floating on the water and underwater. Besides, the magnetic-responsive ability allowed for controllable collection of oil contaminants. These features, along with the reusability, make the porous carbon nanotube microspheres excellent adsorbents for water purification.
HYPOTHESIS: Oil adsorption is significant for water purification and environmental protection. However, the conventional bulk sorbents face the predicament of uncontrollable motion as well as hydrophobic nature the whole body, which largely restricts their uptake capacity underwater. Hence, novel adsorbent material for high-efficient oil uptake both at the surface and under the water is urgently required. EXPERIMENTS: We presented a phase-transition lysozyme coating approach to fabricate porous carbon nanotube microspheres with tailorable surface wettability areas for versatile oil adsorption. Because of the existence of magnetic nanoparticle in one hemisphere, the multi-sites coating was easily achieved by constantly changing orientations of the magnetic field. Owing to the integration of various hydrophilic functional groups in lysozyme as well as remarkable adhesion to virtually arbitrary materials, the intrinsically hydrophobic surface of the microspheres was partially modified hydrophilic on multiple sites. FINDINGS: It was demonstrated that the unique surface wettability feature and the porous structure enabled the microspheres to adsorb multiple contaminants both floating on the water and underwater. Besides, the magnetic-responsive ability allowed for controllable collection of oil contaminants. These features, along with the reusability, make the porous carbon nanotube microspheres excellent adsorbents for water purification.