New work coming out of MIT now describes a novel nanostructures membrane that can be switched between superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic behavior on demand. Think of it as an ‘oil spill clean-up paper towel’ that absorbs only the oil but not the water. Given the global scale of severe water pollution arising from oil spills and industrial organic pollutants, this nanomaterial may prove particularly useful in the design of recyclable absorbents with significant environmental impact.
A layer of gasoline (left) can be removed by addition of the self-supporting membrane to the gasoline followed by the removal of the paper (right). The gasoline was labeled with Oil Blue 35 dye for clear presentation. (Reprinted with permission from Nature Publishing Group)
Novel nanotechnology material addresses water pollution and oil spills
