A PEI/TMC membrane modified with an ionic liquid with enhanced permeability and antibacterial properties for the removal of heavy metal ions

Bio-Inspired Underwater Superoleophobic Aramid Nanofiber-Based Aerogel Membranes for Highly Efficient Removal of Emulsified Oils and Organic Dyes

Effective elimination of insoluble emulsified oils and soluble organic dyes has received extensively attention in wastewater treatment. In this work, a chitosan and polydopamine @ aramid nanofibers (CS&PDA@ANFs) aerogel membrane was fabricated through an integration methodology consisting of phase inversion and successive deposition of PDA and CS. The as-prepared aerogel membrane possessed a satisfactory three-dimensional interpenetrating network architecture with high porosity and desirable mechanical property. Furthermore, due to the synergistic effect of hydrophilic CS and PDA, the resultant membrane exhibited good superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity associated with favorable oil resistance/antioil fouling properties. The combination of the interconnected porous structures and super wettability endowed the aerogel membranes with desirable oil-in-water emulsion separation performance. Particularly, an extremely high permeation flux (3729 L/m2/h) and a rejection rate (99.3%) were achieved for the CS&PDA@ANFs membrane. Moreover, diverse dyes could be also adsorbed by the resultant membrane, and the equilibrium adsorption capacity of cationic dye malachite green could reach 36 mg/g, with a high rejection rate over 97%. This study indicated that the CS&PDA@ANFs aerogel membrane held great promise for practical applications in complex wastewater remediation.

Efficient removal of heavy metals in water utilizing facile cross-link conjugated linoleic acid micelles

Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) technology is an effective method to treat low-concentration heavy metal wastewater. However, the leakage of surfactants in the ultrafiltration (UF) process will inevitably cause secondary pollution. In this study, a biosurfactant of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) with conjugated double bonds was selected to bind its micelles by simple thermal crosslinking to obtain morphologically stable stearic acid (SA) nanoparticles. The pure SA nanoparticles were obtained by repeated dialysis. The stability of the SA nanoparticles was verified by comparing the particle size distribution and solubility of the materials before and after crosslinking at different pH levels. The effectiveness of SA nanoparticle-enhanced UF in removing heavy metals was verified by exploring the adsorption performance of SA nanoparticles. The dialysis device was used to simplify the UF device, wherein SA nanoparticles were assessed as adsorbents for the elimination of Cu2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ ions from aqueous solutions under diverse process parameters, including pH, contact time, metal ion concentration, and coexisting ions. The findings indicate that the SA nanoparticles have no evidence of secondary contamination in UF and exhibit compatibility with a broad pH range and coexisting ions. The maximum adsorption capacities for Cu2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ were determined to be 152.77, 403.56, and 271.46 mg/g, respectively.

The Effect of Silver Nanoparticles/Titanium Dioxide in Poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)-Modified, Deproteinized, Natural Rubber Composites on Dye Removal

This work aims to enhance the dye-removal performance of prepared poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)-modified, deproteinized, natural rubber ((PAA-co-PAM)-DPNR) through incorporation with silver nanoparticles/titanium dioxide. The (PAA-co-PAM)-DPNR was prepared by emulsion-graft copolymerization with a grafting efficiency of 10.20 ± 2.33 to 54.26 ± 1.55%. The composites based on (PAA-co-PAM)-DPNR comprising silver nanoparticles and titanium dioxide ((PAA-co-PAM)-DPNR/Ag-TiO2) were then prepared by latex compounding using the fixed concentration of AgNO3 (0.5 phr) and varying concentrations of TiO2 at 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 phr. The formation of silver nanoparticles was obtained by heat and applied pressure. The composites had a porous morphology as they allowed water to diffuse in their structure, allowing the high specific area to interact with dye molecules. The incorporation of silver nanoparticles/titanium dioxide improved the compressive modulus from 1.015 ± 0.062 to 2.283 ± 0.043 KPa. The (PAA-co-PAM)-DPNR/Ag-TiO2 composite with 5.0 phr of TiO2 had a maximum adsorption capacity of 206.42 mg/g, which increased by 2.02-fold compared to (PAA-co-PAM)-DPNR. The behavior of dye removal was assessed with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm adsorption model. These composites can maintain their removal efficiency above 90% for up to five cycles. Thus, these composites could have the potential for dye-removal applications.

Surface modification of FeⅢ-juglone coating on nanofiltration membranes for efficient biofouling mitigation

Nanofiltration membranes have increasingly played a vital role in the purification of surface water and the recycling of wastewater. However, the problem of membrane biofouling, which leads to shortened service life and increased energy consumption, has hindered the widespread application of nanofiltration membranes. In this study, we developed functionalized nanofiltration membranes with anti-adhesive and anti-biofouling properties by coordinating FeIII and juglone onto commercial nanofiltration membranes in a facile and viable manner. Due to the hydrophilic nature of the FeⅢ-juglone coating as well as its ultra-thin thickness and minimal impact on the membrane pores, the permeance of the optimally modified membrane even increased slightly (14 %). The outstanding anti-adhesive property of the FeⅢ-juglone coating was demonstrated by a significant reduction in the adsorption of proteins and bacteria. Furthermore, the modified membranes exhibited lower flux decline amplitude and reduced biofilm deposition during dynamic fouling experiment, further supporting the outstanding anti-biofouling performance of the nanofiltration membrane after the modification with FeⅢ-juglone coating. This study presents a novel and feasible approach for simultaneously improving the water permeance, anti-adhesive property and anti-biofouling property of commercial nanofiltration membranes.

Positively Charged Polyamine Nanofiltration Membrane for Precise Ion-Ion Separation

Positively charged nanofiltration (NF) membranes offer enormous potential for lithium-magnesium separation, hard water softening, and heavy metal removal. However, fundamental performance limitations for these applications exist in conventional polyamide-based NF membranes due to the negatively charged surface and low ion-ion selectivity. We hereby innovatively develop an advanced positively charged polyamine-based NF membrane built by the nucleophilic substitution of bromine and amine groups for precise ion-ion separation. Specifically, polyethylenimine (PEI) and 1,3,5-tris(bromomethyl)benzene (TBB) are interfacially polymerized to generate an amine-linked PEI-TBB selective layer with an ultrathin thickness of ∼95 nm, an effective pore size of 6.5 Å, and a strong positively charged surface with a zeta potential of +20.9 mV at pH 7. The PEI-TBB composite membrane achieves a water permeance of 4.2 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1, various divalent salt rejections above 90%, and separation factors above 15 for NaCl/MgCl2 and LiCl/MgCl2 mixed solutions. A three-stage NF process is implemented to achieve a Mg2+/Li+ mass ratio sharply decreasing from 50 to 0.11 with a total separation factor (SLi,Mg) of 455. Furthermore, the polyamine-based NF membrane exhibits excellent operational stability under continuous filtration and high operational pressure, demonstrating great application potential for precise ion-ion separation.

A 3D phytic acid cross-linked high-porous conductive hydrogel integrating g-C3N4 for electrochemical multiplex sensing of heavy metal ions

It is a great challenge to develop an effective super-sensitive capture method for multiplex heavy metal ions (HMIs), because HMIs is extremely toxic to public health and the environment, what's more their contamination is usually multiplex ions pollution. In this work, a 3D high-porous conductive polymer hydrogel was designed and prepared with high-stable and easy mass production, which is very favorable for the industrialization. The polymer hydrogel (g-C₃N₄-P(Ani-Py)-PAAM) was formed from the mixture of aniline pyrrole copolymer and acrylamide cross-linked with phytic acid as dopant and cross-linker and integrated with g-C₃N₄. The 3D networked high-porous hydrogel not only exhibits excellent electrical conductivity, but also provides a large surface area for increasing the number of immobilized ions. Importantly, the 3D high-porous conductive polymer hydrogel was applied successfully in electrochemical multiplex sensing of HIMs. The prepared sensor used differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry exhibited high sensitivities, low detection limit and wide detection ranges for Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺, respectively. Moreover, the sensor showed a high accuracy in lake water test. The preparation and application of the hydrogel in electrochemical sensor provided an availability strategy to capture and detect the various HMIs by electrochemistry in solution and has great commercial application prospect.

Synthesis of a novel porous organic polymer containing triazine and cyclohexanone rings as an efficient methyl red adsorbent from aqueous solutions

In this research, a new porous organic polymer based on triazine and cyclohexanone rings was synthesized via Schiff base condensation, and its performance as an adsorbent for the removal of Methyl Red dye from aqueous solution was investigated. The synthesized polymer was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, TGA, and BET analyses. Five important parameters of pH (4-10), contact time (10-120 min), adsorbent dose (5-10 mg), initial dye concentration (10-70 mg/L), and temperature (25-45 °C) were investigated to optimize the adsorption conditions. Solution pH of 4, contact time of 80 min, adsorbent dose of 8 mg, initial dye concentration of 50 mg/L, and temperature of 45 °C were obtained as the best conditions for the adsorption of methyl red dye. Two widely used Langmuir and Freundlich models were employed to investigate the adsorption isotherm, and the obtained data showed that the adsorption process follows the Langmuir isotherm with a correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.9784) which indicates monolayer adsorption. The achieved maximum adsorption capacity was 178.57 mg/g. Also, the results of kinetic studies indicate that the adsorption process follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic, which suggests that chemical interactions play an important role in dye removal. Furthermore, the results showed that the adsorption process of methyl red dye by polymer is endothermic.

Layered Double Hydroxides: A Novel Promising 2D Nanomaterial for Bone Diseases Treatment

Bone diseases including bone defects, bone infections, osteoarthritis, and bone tumors seriously affect life quality of the patient and bring serious economic burdens to social health management, for which the current clinical treatments bear dissatisfactory therapeutic effects. Biomaterial-based strategies have been widely applied in the treatment of orthopedic diseases but are still plagued by deficient bioreactivity. With the development of nanotechnology, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with adjustable metal ion composition and alterable interlayer structure possessing charming physicochemical characteristics, versatile bioactive properties, and excellent drug loading and delivery capabilities arise widespread attention and have achieved considerable achievements for bone disease treatment in the last decade. However, to the authors' best knowledge, no review has comprehensively summarized the advances of LDHs in treating bone disease so far. Herein, the advantages of LDHs for orthopedic disorders treatment are outlined and the corresponding state-of-the-art achievements are summarized for the first time. The potential of LDHs-based nanocomposites for extended therapeutics for bone diseases is highlighted and perspectives for LDHs-based scaffold design are proposed for facilitated clinical translation.

Synthesis and characterization of a novel N-rich porous organic polymer and its application as an efficient porous adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions

In this study, a novel N-rich triazine-based porous organic polymer (NR-POP) was synthesized via Schiff-base condensation. The structure of the synthesized porous polymer was identified using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, TGA, and BET analyses. The adsorption efficiency of this polymer was investigated for the removal of lead and cadmium ions pollutants. The adsorption processes of Pb(II) and Cd(II) metal ions by this polymer adsorbent were exothermic and matched by the Langmuir isotherm with a high correlation coefficient (R² = 0.9904, 0.9778), the maximum adsorption capacity (833.33, 178.57 mg g^-1), and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, NR-POP showed an excellent adsorption selectivity for Pb(II) compared to Cd(II).

Positively charged membranes for dye/salt separation based on a crossover combination of Mannich reaction and prebiotic chemistry

With the advent of increasingly loose nanofiltration membranes for dye desalination, synthesis methods based on interfacial polymerization and bio-inspired materials such as polydopamine (pDA) have been investigated. However, the long polymerization time of pDA greatly limits the synthesis and application of fast dye/salt separation membranes. In this work, prebiotic chemistry-inspired aminomalononitrile (AMN) was used as a binder to co-deposit the Mannich reaction of tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) to form the positively charged selective layer rapidly. The optimum membrane had a water permeance of 30.7 LMH bar^-1 and a rejection of positively charged Victoria blue B (VBB, 200 ppm) and Na₂SO₄ (1 g/L) of 99.5 % and 9.9 %, respectively. Moreover, the results of a practical application test showed that it had excellent separation performance towards various positively charged dyes and salts. In addition, the actual application test results show that the membrane has good long-term stability during application. In terms of antifouling and antibacterial, the membrane has excellent antibacterial and antifouling properties., Further antibacterial tests were carried out, and the inactivation effect of the membrane on E. coli was also confirmed. The preparation method proposed in this work provides technical support for developing new dye/salt separation membranes.

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/partially alkylated poly(vinyl imidazole) interpolymer ultrafiltration membranes with intrinsic anti-biofouling and antifouling property for the removal of bacteria

Bacterial contaminated water causes potential health issues. Conventional chlorine treatment has shortcomings of environmental hazards and chlorine adoptability by the bacterial cells. Ultrafiltration membrane can intercept bacterial species from feed water. Membrane having anti-biofouling/antifouling properties is needed for the removal of bacteria from feed water. Herein, interpolymer membranes with inherent antimicrobial activity and fouling release property have been prepared by the blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and partially long chain alkylated (C12 chain) poly(vinyl imidazole) copolymer (PVIm-co-PVIm-C12) followed by cross-linking of the remaining VIm groups with an activated di-halide compound. The membranes obtain with copolymers of degree of alkyl substitution (DS_C12) in the range of 0.75-0.85 and amount in the range of 0.9-3.5% w/w in the casting solutions exhibit good antimicrobial activity (>99 % of inhibition) and dynamic anti-biofouling property. The membrane prepared with 0.9% w/w of the copolymer (DS_C12=0.85) shows higher flux recovery ratio (91 % for bacterial filtration and 88 % for protein filtration) compare to a pristine membrane (57 % for bacterial filtration and 58 % for protein filtration). The membrane is able to reject the bacteria completely. Use of small amount of copolymer and facile fabrication of stable anti-biofouling/antifouling membranes show potential for the purification of bacterial contaminated water.