The Kurchatov Institute has developed new superabsorbents made from polystyrene.

The results of the work are published in the scientific journal Fibre Chemistry. Polystyrene is one of the most widely used polymers for manufacturing construction, packaging, and medical materials. It can also be used to produce nonwoven materials through electrospinning—drawing ultra-thin fibers from a polymer solution or melt under the influence of a high-voltage electric field. These materials can be utilized for various applications, ranging from air filtration to oil spill remediation.

Nonwoven materials can be derived not only from pure polystyrene but also from its blends with other polymers. In this case, a solvent suitable for all components of the mixture is required. Additionally, various fillers—either mineral or organic substances—can be incorporated into the solution. One of the advantages of the electrospinning method is the ability to flexibly adjust the properties of the produced fibers, including through the selection of optimal solvents or their mixtures.

Researchers at the Kurchatov Institute studied how different solvents affect the electrospinning process of polystyrene and the properties of the resulting materials. The experiments revealed that the addition of ethanol to the solution reduces the average fiber diameter due to decreased viscosity and increased conductivity of the solutions. The best results were obtained using the solvent dimethylformamide: materials made with it have the thinnest fibers (less than 2.5 µm) and the highest adsorption capacity—up to 185 g/g (meaning one gram of sorbent can absorb 185 grams of a substance, such as oil).

“Ultimately, it was shown that to achieve the greatest adsorption capacity and produce 'super sorbents', materials must combine minimal fiber packing density with small fiber diameter while maintaining these characteristics during operation. Such hydrophobic (water-interacting) materials will be extremely effective for cleaning water bodies from oil spills, significantly surpassing the sorbents currently in use,” said Sergey Malakhov, senior researcher at the Kurchatov Institute's NBIKS-Nature-like Technologies Complex.

The research conducted by the Kurchatov Institute scientists in this area is also crucial for developing new materials for organic electronics, high-tech medicine, and other fields.