“Click” surface modification of porous carbon fibers by benzophenone photochemisty and its application on oil-water separation

Surface modification endows materials with diverse properties conveniently, enabling researches in specific fields and applications in various scenarios. However, the challenge of surface modification lies in the difficulty of precisely controlling the modification degree under convinent conditons. In response to this challenge, we propose a new concept of “click” surface modification. Based on this, hydrophobic benzophenone was efficiently modified on the surface of carbon fibers by mild photo-initiated chemical modification, and the amount of hydrophobic groups on the surface was accurately measured and easily controlled. The modified carbon fibers exhibited expected performance, which were directly gravity-driven to achieve the separation of various oil-water mixtures and water-in-oil emulsions without any external stimulation. This study not only opens up the research field of “click” surface modification on the basis of benzophenone photochemistry, but also greatly enriches the application of carbon fibers in oil-water separation.