Synthesis and application of modified commercial sponges for oil-water separation

Oil adsorption sponges have attracted great attention in the field of oil-water mixture treatment, due to their low cost, high porosity, flexible design, and three dimensional skeleton structures. However, the hydrophilic-oleophilic of commercial sponge limits its application for oil-water treatment. To improve the adsorption performance and simplify the oil recovery process, various modification methods have been studied recently. Herein, we discuss the fabrication of hydrophobic/oleophilic sponges and summarize the recently reported modify materials onto sponges. Furthermore, some additional material properties are also presented, which make sponges superior capacity for addressing oil spills under extreme conditions. In addition, some oil collecting devices based on sponges, which are used to facilitate the oil collecting processes, are also shown. Meanwhile, the outlooks and challenges are also offered for future applications of sponges in the remediation of oil spill.