Oil mop

Scientists at MIT say they have created a membrane that can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil, and can be recycled many times for future use.

'What we found is that we can make 'paper' from an interwoven mesh of nanowires that is able to selectively absorb hydrophobic liquids - oil-like liquids - from water,' said Francesco Stellacci, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

In addition to its environmental applications, the nanowire paper could also impact filtering and the purification of water, said Jing Kong, an assistant professor of electrical engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She noted that it could also be inexpensive to produce because the nanowires of which it is composed can be fabricated in larger quantities than other nanomaterials.

Stellacci explained that there are other materials that can absorb oils from water, 'but their selectivity is not as high as ours.' In other words, conventional materials still absorb some water, making them less efficient at capturing the contaminant.