skip to main content

Explore Research Products in the NSF-PAR

  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Porous Silicon Nanoparticles Conjugated Magnetite‐Chitosan Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles for Effective Removal of Complex Pollutants

This content will become publicly available on February 16, 2025

Title: Porous Silicon Nanoparticles Conjugated Magnetite‐Chitosan Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles for Effective Removal of Complex Pollutants
Abstract

The effective removal of complex pollutants is extremely challenging for environmental and material science, especially pollutants including detergents and pesticides do not decompose or degrade in the aquatic environment which cannot be easily removed. Here, a novel biocompatible superparamagnetic nanocomposite integrating the advantages of porous silicon nanoparticles is developed, the chelation ability of chitosan, and graphene‐oxide‐iron that can simultaneously adsorb complex hydrophobic and hydrophilic pollutants on their internal and external surfaces which have significantly improved pollutant removal efficiency over the current existing methods. A porous silicon nanoparticle (PSi) conjugated magnetite‐chitosan‐reduced graphene oxide (MCRGO) nanoparticles (PSi‐MCRGO) are synthesized for complete removal of detergent, pesticide, and toxic heavy metals cadmium and lead ions from water at a favorable room temperature. The adsorption behavior of the nanocomposites fits well with the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo‐second‐order kinetics model by adsorption mechanism. Moreover, the fresh and recycled nanocomposites are easily separated by an external magnetic field for reusability due to super magnetite response and show high binding capacity for toxic heavy metal ions. Furthermore, the nanocomposites are biocompatible and reusable, and for the fourth time, recycled nanocomposites can completely remove toxic heavy metals. Overall, the novel nanocomposites completely remove complex pollutants which hold great potential for real water treatment.

  more » « less
NSF-PAR ID:
10491154
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Advanced Sustainable Systems
ISSN:
2366-7486
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ( , RSC Advances)
    null (Ed.)
    Heavy metal ions are highly toxic and widely spread as environmental pollutants. This work reports the development of two novel chelating adsorbents, based on the chemical modifications of graphene oxide and zirconium phosphate by functionalization with melamine-based chelating ligands for the effective and selective extraction of Hg( ii ) and Pb( ii ) from contaminated water sources. The first adsorbent melamine, thiourea-partially reduced graphene oxide (MT-PRGO) combines the heavier donor atom sulfur with the amine and triazine nitrogen's functional groups attached to the partially reduced GO nanosheets to effectively capture Hg( ii ) ions from water. The MT-PRGO adsorbent shows high efficiency for the extraction of Hg( ii ) with a capacity of 651 mg g −1 and very fast kinetics resulting in a 100% removal of Hg( ii ) from 500 ppb and 50 ppm concentrations in 15 second and 30 min, respectively. The second adsorbent, melamine zirconium phosphate (M-ZrP), is designed to combine the amine and triazine nitrogen's functional groups of melamine with the hydroxyl active sites of zirconium phosphate to effectively capture Pb( ii ) ions from water. The M-ZrP adsorbent shows exceptionally high adsorption affinity for Pb( ii ) with a capacity of 681 mg g −1 and 1000 mg g −1 using an adsorbent dose of 1 g L −1 and 2 g L −1 , respectively. The high adsorption capacity is also coupled with fast kinetics where the equilibrium time required for the 100% removal of Pb( ii ) from 1 ppm, 100 ppm and 1000 ppm concentrations is 40 seconds, 5 min and 30 min, respectively using an adsorbent dose of 1 g L −1 . In a mixture of six heavy metal ions at a concentration of 10 ppm, the removal efficiency is 100% for Pb( ii ), 99% for Hg( ii ), Cd( ii ) and Zn( ii ), 94% for Cu( ii ), and 90% for Ni( ii ) while at a higher concentration of 250 ppm the removal efficiency for Pb( ii ) is 95% compared to 23% for Hg( ii ) and less than 10% for the other ions. Because of the fast adsorption kinetics, high removal capacity, excellent regeneration, stability and reusability, the MT-PRGO and M-ZrP are proposed as top performing remediation adsorbents for the solid phase extraction of Hg( ii ) and Pb( ii ), respectively from contaminated water. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ( , Environmental Science: Nano)
    Based on tunable properties, engineered nanoparticles (NPs) hold significant promise for water treatment technologies. Motivated by concerns regarding toxicity and non-biodegradability of some nanoparticles, we explored engineered magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles with a biocompatible coating. These were prepared with a coating of rhamnolipid, a biosurfactant primarily obtained from Pseudomonas aeruginosa . By optimizing synthesis and phase transfer conditions, particles were observed to be monodispersed and stable in water under environmentally relevant pH and ionic strength values. These materials were evaluated for U( vi ) removal from water at varying dissolved inorganic carbon and pH conditions. The rhamnolipid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) showed high sorption capacities at pH 6 and pH 8 in both carbonate-free systems and systems in equilibrium with atmospheric CO 2 . Equilibrium sorption behavior was interpreted using surface complexation modeling (SCM). Two models (diffuse double layer and non-electrostatic) were evaluated for their ability to account for U( vi ) binding to the carboxyl groups of the rhamnolipid coating as a function of the pH, total U( vi ) loading, and dissolved inorganic carbon concentration. The diffuse double layer model provided the best simulation of the adsorption data and was sensitive to U( vi ) loadings as it accounted for the change in the surface charge associated with U( vi ) adsorption. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ( , Environmental Science: Advances)
    Heavy metal contamination is one of the leading causes of water pollution, with known adverse effects on human health and the environment. This work demonstrates a novel custom-made 3D printable eco-friendly hydrogel and fabrication process that produces stable biocompatible adsorbents with the ability to capture and remove heavy metals from aqueous environments quickly and economically. The 3D printable ink contains alginate, gelatin, and polyethyleneimine (PEI), which binds heavy metals through primary and secondary amine side chains favoring heavy metal adsorption. The ink's rheological properties are optimized to create mechanically stable constructs, in the form of 3D-printed tablets, fabricated entirely by printing. The optimized tablets have high porosity and accessible surface area with multiple binding sites for heavy metal ion adsorption while the printing process enables rapid and affordable production with the potential for scale-up. The results demonstrate the contribution of hydrogel composition and rheology in determining the printability, stability, and heavy metal binding characteristics of the hydrogel, and indicate the critical role of the PEI in increasing stability of the printed construct, in addition to its metal binding properties. The highest removal capacity was obtained for copper, followed by cadmium, cobalt, and nickel ions. In the optimized formulation, each hydrogel tablet removed 60% from 100 ppm copper in 5 h and up to 98% in 18 h. For more concentrated solutions (1000 ppm), ∼25% of copper was removed in 18 h. The printed tablets are stable, robust, and can be produced in a single simple step from inexpensive biomaterials. The ink's tunability, excellent printability, and stability offer a universally applicable procedure for creating hydrogel-based structures for environmental remediation. These unique capabilities open new avenues for manufacturing tailor-made constructs with integrated functionality for water treatment and environmental applications. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ( , Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology)
    Capacitive deionization (CDI) technologies have gained intense attention for water purification and desalination in recent years. Inexpensive and widely available porous carbon materials have enabled the fast growth of electrosorption research, highlighting the promise of CDI as a potentially cost-effective technology to remove ions. Whereas the main focus of CDI has been on bulk desalination, there has been a recent shift towards electrosorption for selective ion separations. Heavy metals are pollutants that can have severe health impacts and are present in both industrial wastewater and groundwater leachates. Heavy metal ions, such as chromium, cadmium, or arsenic, are of great concern to traditional treatment technologies, due to their low concentration and the presence of competing species. The modification/functionalization of porous carbon and recent developments of faradaic and redox-active materials have offered a new avenue for selective ion-binding of heavy metal contaminants. Here, we review the progress in electrosorptive technologies for heavy metal separations. We provide an overview of the wide applicability of carbon-based electrodes for heavy metal removal. In parallel, we highlight the trend toward modification of carbon materials, new developments in faradaic interfaces, and the underlying physico-chemical mechanisms that promote selective heavy metal separations. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ( , Geo-Chicago 2016)
    Heavy metals contaminants include lead, chromium, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, copper, and mercury all of which can cause significant damage to human health and the environment as a result of their mobility and solubility within groundwater. In the Midwest portion of the United States, soil and groundwater based lead, zinc, and cadmium are the prominent pollutants of concern. While remedial technologies exist for heavy metals pollution, the majority of these solutions are expensive to design, maintain, and install. Drinking water treatment waste (DWTW) is a currently landfilled, relatively pure, industrial waste byproduct composed almost entirely of calcium oxide produced during water purification processes. Measured doses of drinking water treatment waste were submerged in synthetic groundwater solutions containing 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 millimolar concentrations of lead, cadmium and zinc in order to determine if this material could provide remedial measures for heavy metals. In addition, the geomechanical properties and chemical composition of the material were determined. Removal rates varied based upon internal and external water content as well as flocculant formation. However, all tests verify that the material is capable of heavy metals removal at relatively rapid rates. This data suggests that when entrained in a previous matrix, the reactive nature of the byproduct sorbs ions in solution passing through the matrix. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email