Oil spill clean-up is a long-standing challenge for researchers to prevent serious environmental pollution. A new kind of oil-absorbent based on silicon-containing polymers (e.g., poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)) with high absorption capacity and excellent reusability was prepared and used for oil-water separation. The PDMS-based oil absorbents have highly interconnected pores with swellable skeletons, combining the advantages of porous materials and gels. On the other hand, polymer/silica composites have been extensively studied as high-performance functional coatings since, as an organic/inorganic composite material, they are expected to combine polymer flexibility and ease of processing with mechanical properties. Polymer composites with increased impact resistance and tensile strength without decreasing the flexibility of the polymer matrix can be achieved by incorporating silica nanoparticles, nanosand, or sand particles into the polymeric matrices. Therefore, polymer/silica composites have attracted great interest in many industries. Some potential applications, including high-performance coatings, electronics and optical applications, membranes, sensors, materials for metal uptake, etc., were comprehensively reviewed. In the first part of the review, we will cover the recent progress of oil absorbents based on silicon-containing polymers (PDMS). In the later details of the review, we will discuss the recent developments of functional materials based on polymer/silica composites, sand, and nanosand systems.

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