The efficient cleanup of high-viscosity crude oil spills remains a formidable challenge due to the poor fluidity of oil and the complexity of marine environments. Herein, a multifunctional superhydrophobic MXene/cellulose nanofiber (S-MXene/SCNF) composite aerogel was developed for all-weather crude oil remediation. By combining freeze-drying with a two-step silanization strategy, the MXene nanosheets were uniformly assembled into the CNF scaffold, creating a stable 3D conductive network with excellent environmental durability. The resulting S-MXene/SCNF aerogel exhibits dual-mode heat generation capabilities, achieving rapid surface heating up to 188.7 °C under solar irradiation (0.20 W/cm2) and 129 °C under a low voltage of 3.0 V. This localized heating effectively reduces the viscosity of crude oil by several orders of magnitude, thereby solving the problem of slow diffusion in conventional adsorbents. Consequently, the aerogel demonstrates an ultrahigh continuous oil separation flux of 461.2 kg·m–2·h–1 and a fast adsorption time (<45 s). Moreover, the S-MXene/SCNF aerogel maintains stable superhydrophobicity and high separation efficiency even after 50 cycles. Overall, this work presents a scalable, energy-efficient, and environmentally stable material for heavy oil spill remediation.
Fan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.