Evaluation of hyper-cross-linked polymers performances in the removal of hazardous heavy metal ions: A review

Impregnation of Silica Gel with Choline Chloride-MEA as an eco-friendly adsorbent for CO2 capture

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are a generation of ionic liquids that benefit from low cost, good stability, and environmental-friendly features. In this research, a porous silica gel was impregnated with a eutectic Choline Chloride-Monoethanolamine solvent (ChCl-MEA) to greatly improve its CO2 capture performance. In the impregnation, the weight percentages of ChCl-MEA were used in the range of 10-60 wt% at a temperature of 25 °C. The effect of ChCl-MEA loading on the structural properties of the DES-modified silica samples was studied by BET, FTIR, and TGA analyses. Investigation of the CO2 adsorption performance at different operational conditions showed that the modified silica gel with 50 wt% ChCl-MEA (Silica-CM50) presents the highest CO2 capture capacity of 89.32 mg/g. In the kinetic modeling, the fractional order model with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 resulted in the best fit with the experimental data. In addition, the isotherm data for Silica-CM50 were well-fitted with the Dual site Langmuir isotherm model with a correlation coefficient of 0.999, representing two distinct sites for the adsorption process. Moreover, the thermodynamic parameters including Enthalpy, Entropy, and Gibbs free energy at 25 °C were obtained to be - 2.770, - 0.005 and - 1.162, respectively. The results showed the exothermic, spontaneous and feasibility of the adsorption process.

Breakthrough applications of porous organic materials for membrane-based CO2 separation: a review

Over the last decades, porous organic materials (POMs) have been extensively employed in various industrial approaches including gas separation, catalysis and energy production due to possessing indisputable advantages like great surface area, high permeability, controllable pore size, appropriate functionalization and excellent processability compared to traditional substances like zeolites, Alumina and polymers. This review presents the recent breakthroughs in the multifunctional POMs for potential use in the membrane-based CO2 separation. Some examples of highly-selective membranes using multifunctional POMs are described. Moreover, various classifications of POMs following with their advantages and disadvantages in CO2 separation processes are explained. Apart from reviewing the state-of-the-art POMs in CO2 separation, the challenges/limitations of POMs with tailored structures for reasonable application are discussed.

Hypercrosslinked waste polycarbonate to remove heavy metal contaminants from wastewater

In this research, the waste polycarbonate was hypercrosslinked during the Friedel-Crafts reaction to eliminate metallic ions from the wastewater solution. The experiments for inspecting the adsorption behavior of lead and cadmium ions were conducted at the initial concentration of 20-100 mg/L, contact time of 10-80 min, temperature of 20-80 °C, and pH of 6-11. The isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic models have been used to explain the behavior of the metal ions removal process. The correlation coefficient and adsorption capacity of the kinetic model for cadmium ion have obtained 0.995 and 160.183 mg/g, respectively, and the correlation coefficient and adsorption capacity of the kinetic model for lead ion has obtained 0.998 and 160.53 mg/g, respectively, which declared that the cascade was not monolayer. The correlation coefficient of the Freundlich is calculated at 0.995 and 0.998 for Cd and Pb, respectively, indicating the resin plane was not homogenized. The n constant for cadmium and lead ions has been calculated at 2.060 and 1.836, respectively, confirming that the resin is not homogenized, and the process has performed well. Afterward, the values of enthalpy and Gibbs free energy changes were obtained at - 7.68 kJ/mol and - 0.0231 kJ/mol.K for lead ions, respectively, which implies the exothermic and spontaneous state of the process. The values of enthalpy and Gibbs free energy changes have been obtained at - 6.62 kJ/mol and - 0.0204 kJ/mol.K for cadmium ions, respectively, which implies the exothermic and spontaneous nature of the adsorption. Also, the optimal empirical conditions for lead and cadmium ions have been found at a time of 60 min, temperature of 20 °C, initial concentration of 100 mg/L, and pH of 10. At a time of 45 min, the diffusion coefficient and mass transfer coefficient for lead ions have been calculated at 0.1269 × 1020 m2/s and 0.2028 × 1015 m/s, respectively. In addition, at a time of 45 min, the diffusion coefficient and mass transfer coefficient for cadmium ions have been calculated at 0.1463 × 1020 m2/s and 0.1054 × 1015 m/s, respectively. Moreover, the mechanism study explains that the C-O-C and C-H in the aromatic groups have a crucial aspect in the bond formation among metallic ions and resin.

Simultaneous extraction of hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and catecholamines with magnetic boronic acid hypercrosslinked polymers

Urinary hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) and catecholamines (CAs) are important biomarkers of PAHs exposure. In this study, a novel magnetic boronic acid hypercrosslinked composite (Fe3O4@HCP-BA) is synthesized using a facile one-pot strategy and applied as a sorbent for the simultaneous extraction of OH-PAHs and CAs in urine samples. The synthesized Fe3O4@HCP-BA composites are characterized by rich pore structure, highly specific surface area, good magnetic response, and excellent selectivity and adsorption efficiency (range: 65.26-496.71 and 1227.3-1581.8 µmol g-1 for CAs and OH-PAHs, respectively). The mechanisms governing the adsorption of the OH-PAHs and CAs to the Fe3O4@HCP-BA composites were systematically studied via adsorption kinetics, isotherm models, XPS characterization, and molecular simulation. The resultant Fe3O4@HCP-BA composite-based MSPE/HPLC-FLD method exhibited good linearity (R2 > 0.9916), low limits of detection (0.2-0.3 pg mL-1 and 0.2-0.3 ng mL-1 for OH-PAHs and CAs, respectively), and good precision (intra-day and inter-day RSDs < 11.1%). The analysis of CAs and OH-PAHs in the urine samples from 14 smokers and 14 non-smokers revealed a positive correlation between the concentrations of CAs and OH-PAHs. Our findings not only establish the proposed method as a green, environmentally friendly, and simple strategy for preparing magnetic adsorbents, but also confirm it as a promising alternative method for accurate determination of OH-PAHs and CAs in biological samples.

Recent advances of modification effect in Co3O4-based catalyst towards highly efficient photocatalysis

Tricobalt tetroxide (Co3O4) has been developed as a promising photocatalyst material for various applications. Several reports have been published on the self-modification of Co3O4 to achieve optimal photocatalytic performance. The pristine Co3O4 alone is inadequate for photocatalysis due to the rapid recombination process of photogenerated (PG) charge carriers. The modification of Co3O4 can be extended through the introduction of doping elements, incorporation of supporting materials, surface functionalization, metal loading, and combination with other photocatalysts. The addition of doping elements and support materials may enhance the photocatalysis process, although these modifications have a slight effect on decreasing the recombination process of PG charge carriers. On the other hand, combining Co3O4 with other semiconductors results in a different PG charge carrier mechanism, leading to a decrease in the recombination process and an increase in photocatalytic activity. Therefore, this work discusses recent modifications of Co3O4 and their effects on its photocatalytic performance. Additionally, the modification effects, such as enhanced surface area, generation of oxygen vacancies, tuning the band gap, and formation of heterojunctions, are reviewed to demonstrate the feasibility of separating PG charge carriers. Finally, the formation and mechanism of these modification effects are also reviewed based on theoretical and experimental approaches to validate their formation and the transfer process of charge carriers.

Green synthesis of a mesoporous hyper-cross-linked polyamide/polyamine 3D network through Michael addition for the treatment of heavy metals and organic dyes contaminated wastewater

Environmental pollution is the greatest challenge of the modern age due to unprecedented industrialization and urbanization that has led to the contamination of water resources with a wide range of pollutants. The release of untreated industrial and municipal wastewater to water bodies further intensifies the problem. The presence of heavy metals and organic contaminants in water poses significant threats to humans, aquatic life, and the environment. Adsorption is one of the famous water treatment technologies due to its simplicity, low cost, efficiency, and minimal secondary pollution. The selection or synthesis of an effective adsorbent is key to the success of the adsorptive removal of pollutants. In this work, we synthesized an adsorbent consisting of a mesoporous hyper-cross-linked polyamide/polyamine 3D network through a single-step Michael addition reaction. The adsorbent was characterized by FTIR, PXRD, TGA, SEM, and TEM to investigate its functional moieties, material nature, thermal, morphological, and internal structural features, respectively. Due to its mesoporous structure, presence of functional groups, and 3D hyper-cross-linked network, it efficiently removed heavy metals (Cd, Cr, and Pb) from aqueous media. The effect of various parameters such as sample pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, and adsorbate concentrations was thoroughly investigated. The experimental data were analyzed by a variety of isotherm models wherein Langmuir was found to be the best fit for explaining the adsorption of all the metals. The adsorption kinetics was best explained by the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacities for Cd, Cr, and Pb were 60.98 mg g-1, 119 mg g-1, and 9.302 mg g-1, respectively. The synthesized adsorbent was also tested for removal of organic dyes, and it showed selective and fast removal of Eriochrome Black T. Polymeric resins can be promising materials for adsorptive remediation of pollutants in aqueous media.

Hyper-Crosslinked Porous Organic Nanomaterials: Structure-Oriented Design and Catalytic Applications

Hyper-crosslinked porous organic nanomaterials, especially the hyper-crosslinked polymers (HCPs), are a unique class of materials that combine the benefits of high surface area, porous structure, and good chemical and thermal stability all rolled into one. A wide range of synthetic methods offer an enormous variety of HCPs with different pore structures and morphologies, which has allowed HCPs to be developed for gas adsorption and separations, chemical adsorption and encapsulation, and heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we present a systematic review of recent approaches to pore size modulation and morphological tailoring of HCPs and their applications to catalysis. We mainly compare the effects of pore size modulation and morphological tailoring on catalytic applications, aiming to pave the way for researchers to develop HCPs with an optimal performance for modern applications.

Computational Insights on the Chemical Reactivity of Functionalized and Crosslinked Polyketones to Cu2+ Ion for Wastewater Treatment

Today, the high concentrations of copper found in water resources result in an urgent problem to solve since human health and aquatic ecosystems have been affected. Functionalized crosslinked polyketone resins (XLPK) have demonstrated high performance for the uptake of heavy metals in water solutions. In addition, its green chemical synthesis makes these resins very attractive as sorbents for metal ions contained in wastewater. XLPK are not soluble in aqueous media and do not require any catalyst, solvent, or harsh conditions to carry out the uptake process. In this paper, a series of functionalized XLPK with pending amino-derivatives namely; butylamine (BA), amino 2-propanol (A2P), 4-(aminomethyl) benzoic acid (HAMC), 6-aminohexanoic acid (PAMBA), and 1,2 diamino propane (DAP) directly attached to the pyrrole backbone of the polymers and crosslinked by di-amine derivatives was investigated using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Our computational analysis revealed that dipole-dipole interactions played a crucial role in enhancing the adsorption of Cu2+ ions onto XLPKs. The negatively charged ketone moieties and functional groups within XLPKs were identified as key adsorption sites for the selective binding of Cu2+ ions. Additionally, we found that XLPKs exhibited strong electrostatic interactions primarily through the -NH2 and -C=O groups. Evaluation of the adsorption energies in XLPK-Cu(II) complexes showed that the DAP-Cu(II) complex exhibited the highest stability, attributed to strong Cu(II)-N binding facilitated by the amino moiety (-NH2). The remaining XLPKs displayed binding modes involving oxygen atoms (Cu(II)-O) within the ketone moieties in the polymer backbone. Furthermore, the complexation and thermochemical analysis emphasized the role of the coordinator atom (N or O) and the coordinating environment, in which higher entropic effects involved in the adsorption of Cu2+ ions onto XLPKs describes a lower spontaneity of the adsorption process. The adsorption reactions were favored at lower temperatures and higher pressures. These findings provide valuable insights into the reactivity and adsorption mechanisms of functionalized and crosslinked polyketones for Cu2+ uptake, facilitating the design of high-performance polymeric resins for water treatment applications.

Improving adsorption performance of L-ascorbic acid from aqueous solution using magnetic rice husk as an adsorbent: experimental and RSM modeling

In this research, rice husk (RH) was utilized to prepare a magnetic adsorbent for adsorption of ascorbic acid (AA). The magnetic agent is iron(III) chloride (FeCl₃). The impact of acid concentration in the range of 400-800 ppm, adsorbent dosage in the range of 0.5-1 g, and contact time in the range of 10-130 min were studied. The Langmuir model had the highest R² of 0.9982, 0.9996, and 0.9985 at the temperature of 15, 25, and 35 °C, respectively, and the q_max values in these temperatures have been calculated at 19.157, 31.34, and 38.75 mg/g, respectively. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model had the best agreement with the experimental results. In this kinetic model, the values of q have been measured at 36.496, 45.248, and 49.019 mg/g at the acid concentration of 418, 600, and 718 ppm, respectively. The values of ΔH^o and ΔS^o were measured 31.972 kJ/mol and 120.253 kJ/mol K, respectively, which proves the endothermic and irregularity nature of the adsorption of AA. Besides, the optimum conditions of the design-expert software have been obtained 486.929 ppm of acid concentration, 0.875 g of the adsorbent dosage, and 105.397 min of the contact time, and the adsorption efficiency in these conditions was determined at 92.94%. The surface area of the RH and modified RH was determined of 98.17 and 120.23 m²/g, respectively, which confirms the high surface area of these two adsorbents.

Chitosan membrane drafting silver-immobilized graphene oxide nanocomposite for banana preservation: Fabrication, physicochemical properties, bioactivities, and application

In this study, silver-immobilized graphene oxide/chitosan (AGC/CTS) membranes were assembled by the solvent evaporation method, wherein Curcuma longa extract was used to synthesize silver-immobilized graphene oxide (AGC) nanocomposite. The characterization results showed that the AGC was successfully synthesized with AgNPs distributed quite evenly on GO sheets. The as-prepared AGC also exhibited high antibacterial activity and low cytotoxicity towards normal cell lines compared to human epithelial carcinoma cell lines. Besides, the fabrication of AGC/CTS membranes was additionally assessed with different AGC ratios and thicknesses. The results revealed the membrane containing 3 wt% of AGC with great hygroscopicity and elasticity module of 27.03 ± 3.07 MPa. The samples also performed excellent bactericidal capability, along with good mechanical properties for banana preservation. Therewithal, the membrane-coated bananas were also elucidated to be ripened at slower paces and less damage, with no appearance of patches of mold on the banana peel surface, eventually prolonging the shelf life of bananas up to 10 days as compared to the non-coated ones. The aforesaid results confirm the potential application of the AGC/CTS membrane as a safe and alternative fruit preservation agent in the food industry.

A Carbonized Zeolite/Chitosan Composite as an Adsorbent for Copper (II) and Chromium (VI) Removal from Water

To address Cu(II) and Cr(VI) water pollution, a carbonized zeolite/chitosan (C-ZLCH) composite adsorbent was produced via pyrolysis at 500 °C for two hours. C-ZLCH was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential measurements. The batch experiments were performed by varying the initial pH, concentration, and contact time. The optimal pH values for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) were 8.1 and 9.6, respectively. The highest adsorption capacities for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) were 111.35 mg/g at 60 min and 104.75 mg/g at 90 min, respectively. The effects of chemicals such as sodium (Na⁺), glucose, ammonium (NH₄⁺), and acid red 88 (AR88) were also studied. Statistical analysis showed that sodium had no significant effect on Cu(II) removal, in contrast to Cr(VI) removal. However, there was a significant effect of the presence of glucose, ammonium, and AR88 on both Cu(II) and Cr(VI) removal. The adsorption isotherm and kinetic models were fitted using Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models for Cu(II) and Cr(VI), respectively.

Green and Superior Adsorbents Derived from Natural Plant Gums for Removal of Contaminants: A Review

The ubiquitous presence of contaminants in water poses a major threat to the safety of ecosystems and human health, and so more materials or technologies are urgently needed to eliminate pollutants. Polymer materials have shown significant advantages over most other adsorption materials in the decontamination of wastewater by virtue of their relatively high adsorption capacity and fast adsorption rate. In recent years, "green development" has become the focus of global attention, and the environmental friendliness of materials themselves has been concerned. Therefore, natural polymers-derived materials are favored in the purification of wastewater due to their unique advantages of being renewable, low cost and environmentally friendly. Among them, natural plant gums show great potential in the synthesis of environmentally friendly polymer adsorption materials due to their rich sources, diverse structures and properties, as well as their renewable, non-toxic and biocompatible advantages. Natural plant gums can be easily modified by facile derivatization or a graft polymerization reaction to enhance the inherent properties or introduce new functions, thus obtaining new adsorption materials for the efficient purification of wastewater. This paper summarized the research progress on the fabrication of various gums-based adsorbents and their application in the decontamination of different types of pollutants. The general synthesis mechanism of gums-based adsorbents, and the adsorption mechanism of the adsorbent for different types of pollutants were also discussed. This paper was aimed at providing a reference for the design and development of more cost-effective and environmentally friendly water purification materials.

Surveying the elimination of hazardous heavy metal from the multi-component systems using various sorbents: a review

In this review, several adsorbents were studied for the elimination of heavy metal ions from multi-component wastewaters. These utilized sorbents are mineral materials, microbes, waste materials, and polymers. It was attempted to probe the structure and chemistry characteristics such as surface morphology, main functional groups, participated elements, surface area, and the adsorbent charges by SEM, FTIR, EDX, and BET tests. The uptake efficiency for metal ions, reusability studies, isotherm models, and kinetic relations for recognizing the adsorbent potentials. Besides, the influential factors such as acidity, initial concentration, time, and heat degree were investigated for selecting the optimum operating conditions in each of the adsorbents. According to the results, polymers especially chitosan, have displayed a higher adsorption capacity relative to the other common adsorbents owing to the excellent surface area and more functional groups such as amine, hydroxyl, and carboxyl species. The high surface area generates the possible active sites for trapping the particles, and the more effective functional groups can complex more metal ions from the polluted water. Also, it was observed that the uptake capacity of each metal ion in the multi-component solutions was different because the ionic radii of each metal ion were different, which influence the competition of metal ions for filling the active sites. Finally, the reusability of the polymers was suitable, because they can use several cycles which proves the economic aspect of the polymers as the adsorbent.

Potential of hypercrosslinked microporous polymer based on carbazole networks for Pb(II) ions removal from aqueous solutions

In this research, porous adsorbents of hypercrosslinked microporous polymer based on carbazole networks (HCP-CN) were synthesized for Pb(II) elimination from wastewaters. The results demonstrated that the extreme HCP-CN adsorbents utilization in wastewater treatment could remove more than 99.88% of Pb (II) ions. Furthermore, the two consumed adsorbents similarly indicated rapid adsorption kinetics, and it merely took a while to achieve adsorption equilibrium. These characteristics showed that HCP-CN adsorbent was an outstanding candidate for Pb(II) elimination from wastewater. Besides, the thermodynamic characteristics involving Gibbs free energy change (∆G⁰), entropy change (∆S⁰), and enthalpy change (∆H⁰) of the adsorption procedure were evaluated, and the results affirmed that the adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous. In addition, response surface methodology (RSM) as a statistical investigation was used to optimize adsorption factors to obtain maximum adsorption capacity and investigate the interactive effect of parameters using central composite design (CCD). Optimum conditions obtained by RSM for maximum adsorption capacity of 26.02 mg/g are 35 °C, 40 mg/L, 11, 60 min, and 99.88 for temperature, initial concentration, pH, time, and removal percent, respectively. In the kinetic modeling study, the second-order model was selected as the best model. The values R² at temperatures 35 °C, 40 °C, and 55 °C are 0.997, 0.9997, and 0.998, respectively. In the isotherm modeling, Hill model with a value R² of 0.9766 has a superior precision compared to the other isotherm models. Also, the values of ΔH and ΔS at Pb(II) concentration of 60 mg/L are 122.622 kJ/mol and 0.463 kJ/mole K, respectively.

Mono- and Bimetallic Nanoparticles Stabilized by an Aromatic Polymeric Network for a Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reaction

This work addresses the Suzuki cross-coupling between 4-bromoanisole (BrAn) and phenylboronic acid (PBA) in an environmentally benign ethanol-water solvent catalysed by mono- (Pd) and bimetallic (PdAu, PdCu, PdZn) nanoparticles (NPs) stabilised within hyper-cross-linked polystyrene (HPS) bearing tertiary amino groups. Small Pd NPs of about 2 nm in diameters were formed and stabilized by HPS independently in the presence of other metals. High catalytic activity and complete conversion of BrAn was attained at low Pd loading. Introduction of Zn to the catalyst composition resulted in the formation of Pd/Zn/ZnO NPs, which demonstrated nearly double activity as compared to Pd/HPS. Bimetallic core-shell PdAu/HPS samples were 3-fold more active as compared to Pd/HPS. Both Pd/HPS and PdAu/HPS samples revealed promising stability confirmed by catalyst recycling in repeated reaction runs.

Mechanism of Cd(II) and Cu(II) Adsorption onto Few-Layered Magnetic Graphene Oxide as an Efficient Adsorbent

Heavy metal contamination caused by industrial discharge is a challenging environmental issue. Herein, an efficient adsorbent based on few-layered magnetic graphene oxide (FLMGO) was fabricated, characterized, and utilized to remove aqueous Cd(II) and Cu(II). Results present that the two components graphene oxide (GO) and Fe₃O₄ of FLMGO promote mutually, enabling FLMGO to outperform either GO or Fe₃O₄. Specifically, FLMGO adsorbs Cd(II) and Cu(II) with adsorption quantities of 401.14 and 1114.22 mg·g^-1 in 5 and 7 min, respectively. Moreover, FLMGO can be readily recovered via magnetic separation using a hand-held magnet. Adsorptions are spontaneous, endothermic, and entropy increasing, which are the best described by the Freundlich and pseudo-second-order model. The interaction mechanism is as follows: lone pair electrons in C=O- and C-O-related groups were coordinated toward Cd(II) and Cu(II) to induce chemical interaction. The high adsorption efficiency endows FLMGO with encouraging application potential in heavy metal remediation.

Protective Effect of Wheat and Barley Grass Against the Acute Toxicological Effects of the Concurrent Administration of Excessive Heavy Metals in Drinking Water on the Rats Liver and Brain

Heavy metal contaminated water is a great concern because of its high toxiciy, non-biodegradability, and bioaccumulation. Therefore, non-contaminated water is fundamental for a healthy life. Special attention is paid to the health-promoting ingredients of germinated whole cereal products. This study aimed to (1) examine the potentially harmful effects of Cu, Mn, and Zn on rat livers and brains, and (2) the potentially protective action of wheat and barley grasses against the expected harmful effects of these metals. The rats were treated with water contaminated by heavy metals (HMs) and germinated wheat and barley for 60 days. The rat liver functions and histopathological examinations were analyzed. Comet assay was evaluated to assess the damage in the DNA of rat livers and brains. The results indicated a significant alteration in liver functions in rats exposed to HMs; however, wheat and barley grasses at high doses decreased the harmful effects. An insignificant difference was noticed in total protein, albumin, and globulin of rats treated with HMs compared with the control. A significant increase in the serum and liver levels of HMs was recorded; however, they were reduced by wheat and barley grasses. Rat livers treated with HMs exhibited severe histological effects. The groups treated with wheat and barley grasses showed a normal liver architecture. A significant increase in DNA damage in the livers and brains was observed in rats treated with HMs, which was reduced when treated with wheat and barley grasses. Thus, using germinated seeds is promising to avoid damaging of HMs.