Oil Absorption: Microfluidic Generation of Porous Particles Encapsulating Spongy Graphene for Oil Absorption (Small 32/2015)

On page 3890, amphiphilic porous particles encapsulated with spongy graphene are generated by Y. Zhao, Z. Gu, and co-workers from a microfluidic device and used as adsorbents for water treatment. The amphiphilic surface characteristics result from hydrophobic graphene cores and hydrophilic shells and, together with the porous structure, ensure that the particles have the ability to absorb oils that are either floating on the water or under water. Once contacted, yellow oil droplets can be absorbed into the external/interconnected hydrophobic graphene cores spontaneously.