The hierarchical macro/mesoporous carbon monolith with
high porosity, good hydrophobicity, and intrinsic fire-resistant
property, can be used as a sorbent for the removal of organic
solvents and oils from water. The oil–water separation experiment
was carried out in a simple setup, as shown in Fig. 8
and Movie S4. Here, we chose C-1000 sample as a sorbent to
demonstrate the absorption capacity of the carbon monolith.
When a small piece of C-1000 sample was forced to the paraf-
fin oil (dyed with oil paint) on a water surface, it absorbed the
paraffin oil completely and rapidly, resulting in the clean
water initially contaminated by the paraffin oil. Moreover,
the C-1000 fouled by paraffin oil was separated entirely from
the water simply by taking it out without leakage of paraffin
oil, exhibiting excellent oil-keeping performance and providing
a facile and useful route for cleaning up oil spillage and
organic compound leakage.