Nanowerk November 4, 2023 Researchers in China have reported a kind of light-responsive MOF adsorption material which was fabricated by covalently immobilizing photoactive spiropyran (SP) molecules onto a chromium(III)-based amino-tagged MIL-101 framework through amide linkages. The photoisomerization of SP moieties provided these materials with reversible binding to metal ions. In the dark, the SP-modified MOFs were capable of adsorbing multiple monovalent and divalent salts from saline water and effectively released the adsorbed ions into water upon exposure to simulated sunlight. The MOFs showed excellent salt adsorption capacity, of which the MOF with an SP modification ratio of 39% had an […]
Tag Archives: Water purification
Scientists develop highly porous materials for electronic and photocatalytic applications
Phys.org July 3, 2023 Porous poly(aryl thioether)s offer stability and electronic tunability by robust sulfur-aryl conjugated architecture, but synthetic access is hindered due to limited control over the nucleophilic nature of sulfides and the air sensitivity of aromatic thiols. An international team of researchers (South Korea, Saudi Arabia) has developed a regioselective synthesis of highly porous poly(aryl thioether)s through polycondensation of perfluoroaromatic compounds with sodium sulfide. The temperature-dependent para-directing formation of thioether linkages led to a stepwise transition of the polymer extension into a network, thereby allowing fine control of the porosity and optical band gaps. The resulting porous organic […]
Researchers develop eco-friendly materials capable of purifying water
Phys.org December 29, 2022 Current water purification technology shows slow adsorption of micropollutants and requires an energy-intensive process for VOCs removal. Researchers in South Korea have developed an efficient molecularly engineered covalent triazine framework (CTF) for rapid adsorption of micropollutants and VOC-intercepting performance using solar distillation. Supramolecular design and mild oxidation of CTFs (CTF-OXs) enabled hydrophilic internal channels and improve molecular sieving of micropollutants. CTF-OX showed rapid removal efficiency of micropollutants (>99.9% in 10 s) and it could be regenerated several times without performance loss. Uptake rates of selected micropollutants were high. Photothermal composite membrane fabrication using CTF-OX exhibited high […]
Solar-powered system offers a route to inexpensive desalination
Science Daily February 14, 2022 Salt accumulation is one of the key bottlenecks for reliable solar evaporation techniques. An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, China) developed a wick-free layered system, with dark material at the top to absorb the sun’s heat, then a thin layer of water above a perforated layer of polyurethane, sitting atop a deep reservoir of the salty water such as a tank or a pond. Through calculations and experiments they determined the holes size in the polyurethane sheet to be 2.5 mm across for optimal convective circulation between the warmer upper layer of water […]