Preparation of recyclable and deformable POM microfiber for oil–water separation with nature-inspired top–bottom strategy

With the rapid development of marine transportation, frequent oil leakage will inevitably occur. Therefore, oil–water separation had become an important research topic. The polyoxymethylene (POM) microfiber is a potential oil–water separation material with very good chemical stability, hydrophobicity, and lipophilicity, as well as unique microfiber recyclability and deformability. In this paper, the POM microfiber (PMF) was prepared using a method inspired by natural bamboo cellulose. PMF can be directly used for oil adsorption with a maximum of 19.5 times of oil adsorption capacity (OAC). The water contact angle (WCA) in oil of POM microfiber membrane (PMFM) can reach 160° and the oil–water separation efficiency was more than 99%. In addition, the recyclability allowed the PMF to repeatedly separate the oil–water mixture, and the deformability ensured that it can be used in various oil–water separation situations with different shapes. Moreover, only deionized water was used in the top-bottom preparation strategy of PMF without any chemical reagents. Therefore, this eco-friendly strategy had important implications for the preparation of microfiber materials.