Dear Ahmed,

For efficient oil adsorption, nanomaterials as an adsorbents should have a high specific surface area, hydrophobic and oleophilic surface chemical properties, and proper chemical stability.

Nano porous films (polymeric films, graphene etc.) have received considerable attention on account of its favorable properties, including high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and high thermal and chemical stability.

You can use silicone nanofilaments, see for example Adv. Funct. Mater. 2011, 21, 4699–4704

Dear Dr. Ahmed

You could consult Prof. Raid Ismail at your department for this problem. As well, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim at Department of Chemical Engineering, UOT has worked on this field few years ago.

However, literatures are too much on Google because there are many types of nanomaterials with different properties and methods that may solve such problem.

Best wishes

Spongy graphene aerogels or sponge coated with reduced graphene oxide are very effective materials for oil/water separation. Hydrophobic nature of these materials is responsible for the effective separation. Huge surface area of spongy material is a great plus.