Template-free synthesis of polystyrene monoliths for the removal of oil-in-water emulsion

Oil-in-water emulsions are harmful to both humankind and environment. Frequent oil spill disasters make it urgent to develop low cost and high-efficiency materials for the treatment of oil-in-water emulsions. In this study, we report the facile template-free synthesis of macroporous polystyrene (PS) monolith from PS solution using a thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) technique. The fabricated monolith showed high hydrophobicity, superoleophilicity, and macroporous structure. Moreover, the monolith exhibited high removal efficiency toward different oil-in-water emulsions. The monolith can be fabricated from cheap and commonly-used plastic. Thus, we anticipate that this research will contribute to both the recycling of PS and the treatment of oil spill accidents.