Superhydrophobic Ti3C2Tx‐decorated bio‐based flexible polyurethane foam for adsorption of crude oil and effective EMI shielding

Abstract Frequent oil spills and increasingly electromagnetic pollution pose a serious threat to human health and ecosystem balance. Due to the high viscosity and poor fluidity of crude oil, traditional absorption materials often have limitations in processing crude oil, such as slow processing speed and inefficiency. A multifunction flexible polyurethane (MPPU) foam was fabricated by foaming from the soybean oil polyol with the modification of Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The prepared MPPU foam was superhydrophobic with a water contact angle (WCA) of 160° and showed excellent mechanical stability by remaining in its initial shape after 1000 cycles. Furthermore, the MPPU foam had efficient photothermal conversion capability (up to 165°C within 100 s under one simulated sunlight) and excellent crude oil adsorption performance. A pump‐assisted continuous oil suction device had been successfully designed for quickly absorbing and recovering crude oil from the water. In addition, the foam revealed great electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance (33.6 dB) because of the outstanding conductivity and unique layered structure of Ti 3 C 2 T x . The fabrication of the multifunction foam with remarkable photothermal performance, oil–water separation ability, and EMI shielding performance provides a promising strategy for realizing the high‐value applications of vegetable oil‐based flexible foams. Highlights The foam is fabricated by using environmentallyfriendly soybean oil polyol. The foam has excellent photothermal conversion and crude oil adsorption performance. The foam has great electromagnetic interference shielding performance.