Hydrophobic poly(alkoxysilane) organogels as sorbent material for oil spill cleanup

Highlights: • Poly(alkoxysilane) organogels with high absorption capacity were prepared. • The influence of the alkoxysilane length on polymer properties was investigated. • Poly(alkoxysilane) organogels have high and fast oil capacities. • Poly(alkoxysilane) organogels have excellent oil/water selectivity. • Synthesized polymers could be used several times without any capacity loss. - Abstract: In this study, reusable poly(alkoxysilane) organogels with high absorption capacities were synthesized by the condensation of a cyclo aliphatic glycol (UNOXOL™) and altering the chain length of the alkyltriethoxysilanes. The structural and thermal properties of cross-linked poly(alkoxysilane) polymers were determined by FTIR, solid-state ¹³C and ²⁹Si CPMAS NMR and TGA. The oil absorbency of poly(alkoxysilane)s was determined through oil absorption tests, absorption and desorption kinetics. Results showed that the highest oil absorbency capacities were found to be 295% for hexane, 389% for euro diesel, 428% for crude oil, 652% for gasoline, 792% for benzene, 792% for toluene, 868% for tetrahydrofuran, and 1060% for dichloromethane for the poly(alkoxysilane) gels based on UNOXOL™ and dodecyltriethoxysilane. Owing to their hydrophobic structure, the poly(alkoxysilane) organogels can selectively absorb crude oil from water. The reusability of the absorbents was quantitatively investigated, demonstrating that absorbents can be used effectively at least nine times