Abstract
A unique approach of vapor phase polymerization is introduced to synthesize a 3D porous network of polystyrene branched carbon nanofiber on polyurethane (CNF/PS) using natural light (NL) initiation. The introduced natural light vapor phase polymerization of the styrene in the confined reactor containing CNF grafted PU offers a porous network with substantial stability. The natural light in a confined reactor performed two major functions. Its first role was to vaporize the styrene by increasing the reactor temperature and, in the second step, it generated styrene radicals. The radical styrene in vapor phase reacted with CNF to produce polystyrene branches by generating active sites on CNF. Without CNF, the polymerization on polyurethane (PU) provided a very delicate and fragile surface; however, CNF reinforced the 3D porous structure and provided active sites for radical polymerization. After polymerization, the surface area of the PU was substantially increased from 9 to 184 m(2)/g and the pore size was decreased from 2567 to 10 angstrom. The 3D porous network of natural light assisted polystyrene branched carbon nanofiber supported PU (3D-NL-PS/CNF/PU) provided a highly hydrophobic surface with a high water contact angle of approximate to 148+/-3 degrees. The prepared 3D network was found to be highly oleophilic and provided rapid gravity driven separation of hexane and water without using any external force.