Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
-
Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 8, 2026
-
Introducing facile regenerability into adsorbent materials can potentially increase sustainability in water treatment systems enabled by extended use. Herein, we detail our recent syntheses of dynamic nanostructured worm-gel materials and their implementation as regenerable adsorbents for water treatment. Photo-controlled atom transfer radical polymerization-induced self-assembly (PhotoATR-PISA) was employed to synthesize various polymer nanostructures, including dispersed spheres, worms, and vesicles, and nanostructured worm-gels, via the synthesis and simultaneous in situ assembly of BAB triblock copolymers. Two dynamic, disulfide-functionalized macroinitiators (SS-MI-1 and 2)with different degree of polymerization and one nondynamic macroinitiator (CC-MI) were synthesized via polymerization of oligo(ethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate) (OEGMA). PhotoATR-PISA was then implemented via the chain extension fromSS-MI-1, 2 and CC-MI with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) or benzyl methacrylate (BMA) forming BAB-type triblock copolymer nanoparticles in situ. The final morphology in PhotoATR-PISA was influenced not only by conventional factors such as solids content and block DP but also by unimer exchange rates yielding arrested, nanostructured worm-gels in many instances and arrested vesicle-gels in one instance. These PISA-gel materials were implemented as adsorbents for phenanthrene, a model compound registered as a priority pollutant by the US EPA, from aqueous solutions. The chemical tunability of these materials enabled enhanced, targeted removal of phenanthrene facilitated by π−π interactions, as evidenced by the increased adsorption capacities of PBMA-based PISA-gels when compared to PGMA. Furthermore, the dynamicity of disulfide worm-gels (SS-WG) enabled disulfide exchange-induced regeneration stimulated by UV light. This UV-responsive exchange was investigated for POEGMA macroinitiators as well as dissolved triblock copolymers, dispersed nanoparticles, and SS-WG materials. Finally, the regenerability of the PNT-saturated SS-WG adsorbents induced by UV irradiation (λ = 365 nm) was examined and compared with control worm-gels absent of disulfides, demonstrating enhanced recovery of adsorption capacity under mild irradiation conditions.more » « less
An official website of the United States government
