Sorption of pyrene to dissolved humic substances and related model polymers. 1. Structure--property correlation
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Updated: Oct 5, 2026

Flash NanoPrecipitation for the Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Compounds in Polymeric Nanoparticles
Published on: January 7, 2019
F D Kopinke1, A Georgi, K Mackenzie
1Department of Remediation Research, UFZ--Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Germany. kopinke@san.ufz.de
Abstract:
Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was employed to determine sorption coefficients for pyrene on dissolved humic substances (DHS) of various origins and also on model polymers to gain a better understanding of the relationships between sorption potential and sorbent structures. The sorption potential of DHS from very different sources is described by an empirical two-parameter correlation involving the polarity (O/H atomic ratio) and the aromaticity (epsilon 280 nm) as descriptors. On the other hand, sorption experiments with well-defined model polymers, poly(acrylic acid) esters, led to the conclusion that aliphatic chains may be more effective than aromatic moieties in binding PAHs. The molecular weight of the model sorbents was found to have a significant influence on the sorption potential.
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A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules, atoms, and/or ions)...
