Functional Capsules Encapsulating Molecular-Recognizable Nanogels for Facile Removal of Organic Micro-Pollutants from Water

Bibliographic Details
Title: Functional Capsules Encapsulating Molecular-Recognizable Nanogels for Facile Removal of Organic Micro-Pollutants from Water
Authors: Wen-Ying Liu, Xiao-Jie Ju, Xing-Qun Pu, Quan-Wei Cai, Yu-Qiong Liu, Zhuang Liu, Wei Wang, Rui Xie, Liang-Yin Chu
Source: Engineering, Vol 7, Iss 5, Pp 636-646 (2021)
Publisher Information: Elsevier, 2021.
Publication Year: 2021
Collection: LCC:Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Subject Terms: Functional capsules, Molecular-recognizable nanogels, Organic micro-pollutants, Host–guest complexation, Separations, Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General), TA1-2040
More Details: A novel method has been successfully developed for the facile and efficient removal of organic micro-pollutants (OMP) from water based on novel functional capsules encapsulating molecular-recognizable nanogels. The functional capsules are composed of ultrathin calcium alginate (Ca-Alg) hydrogel shells as semipermeable membranes and encapsulated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid-g-mono-(6-ethanediamine-6-deoxy)-β-cyclodextrin) (PNCD) nanogels with β-cyclodextrin (CD) moieties as OMP capturers. The semipermeable membranes of the capsules enable the free transfer of OMP and water molecules across the capsule shells, but confine the encapsulated PNCD nanogels within the capsules. Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting chemical that is released from many plastic water containers, was chosen as a model OMP molecule in this study. Based on the host–guest recognition complexation, the CD moieties in the PNCD nanogels can efficiently capture BPA molecules. Thus, the facile and efficient removal of BPA from water can be achieved by immersing the proposed functional capsules into BPA-containing aqueous solutions and then simply removing them, which is easily done due to the capsules’ characteristically large size of up to several millimeters. The kinetics of adsorption of BPA molecules by the capsules is well described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the isothermal adsorption thermodynamics align well with the Freundlich and Langmuir isothermal adsorption models. The regeneration of capsules can be achieved simply by washing them with water at temperatures above the volume phase transition temperature of the PNCD nanogels. Thus, the proposed functional capsules encapsulating molecular-recognizable nanogels provide a novel strategy for the facile and efficient removal of OMP from water.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2095-8099
Relation: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809921001405; https://doaj.org/toc/2095-8099
DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2021.02.007
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/c7572875fd1f4b9ab6979461f21493b1
Accession Number: edsdoj.7572875fd1f4b9ab6979461f21493b1
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20958099
DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2021.02.007
Published in:Engineering
Language:English