Traditional methods for treating oily wastewater often face limitations of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and adaptability to varying environmental conditions. In this study, a novel, cost-efficient modification technique was developed to produce superhydrophobic graphite felt (SGF) through a simple immersion process using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS). The modified SGF demonstrated excellent superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties, with a water contact angle up to 157°, nearly 30° higher than that of unmodified graphite felt. Additionally, the SGF exhibited a remarkable maximum adsorption capacity of 4.29 g/cm3 for carbon tetrachloride and maintained stable performance across high-salinity, acidic, alkaline, and elevated-temperature environments. Notably, the material also displayed impressive photothermal conversion capabilities, enabling the rapid adsorption of viscous oils under sunlight without external energy input. For instance, the adsorption capacity for cyclohexanone increased to 1.6 g/cm3 within 20 s under light, almost ten times faster than in the dark. The underlying mechanism for photothermally enhanced adsorption was investigated. Furthermore, the SGF demonstrated outstanding efficiency and reusability in gravity-driven oil–water separation, with a service life more than five times longer than that of unmodified graphite felt. This work presents a low-cost, highly efficient adsorbent with photothermal enhancement for oily wastewater treatment, offering significant potential for sustainable environmental remediation and self-cleaning applications.
Jiang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.