A Facile and Green Construction of Biomimetic, Fluorine-free and Superhydrophobic Melamine Sponge with Magnetic-driven Function for Efficient Oil–water Separation and Oil Absorption

Inspired by nature, a superhydrophobic and magnetic melamine sponge (BFSM-MF) was fabricated by a one-step dip-coating method. Aiming at replacing nano-Fe3O4 particles with a complex preparation process and high cost, the commercial and cheap Fe3O4 originated from magnetite was employed as a magnetic substance. To acquire superhydrophobicity, the hierarchical mirco/nano-sized structure with low surface energy was mainly contributed by bonding hydrophobic Fe3O4 and graphene with silicone resin onto the surface of the melamine sponge. The results demonstrated that the water and oil static contact angle values of BFSM-MF were 160° and 0°, revealing that BFSM-MF was superhydrophobic and super-oleophilic. Moreover, the self-cleaning ability, magnetic-driven oil absorption ability and continuous oil–water separation performance of BFSM-MF have also been evaluated. As expected, BFSM-MF possessed magnetic-driven oil absorption ability and the oil–water separation efficiency for light oil reaches 98% ± 1%. In addition, the adsorption capacity and recycling performance of different organic solvents were systematically investigated. Therefore, the development of biomimetic, fluorine-free and superhydrophobic foam with magnetic-driven effect has potential application value in marine oil spill treatment and separation of domestic oil pollution.