Environmentally Friendly Eutectogels Comprising l-amino Acids and Deep Eutectic Solvents: Efficient Materials for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Chemistry

Background:

• Growing environmental concerns necessitate sustainable solutions for wastewater treatment.
• Low-impact materials are crucial for effective environmental remediation.
• Cationic dyes in wastewater pose significant pollution challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize supramolecular gels for cationic dye removal from aqueous solutions.
• To investigate the efficiency and reusability of l-amino acid-based eutectogels as sorbents.
• To evaluate the performance of these gels under various wastewater conditions.

Main Methods:

• Supramolecular gels were synthesized using l-amino acids and a deep eutectic solvent (choline chloride/phenylacetic acid).
• Gel properties including transition temperatures, kinetics, rheology, and morphology were characterized.
• Dye removal efficiency was tested by varying pH, dye type, volume, and concentration, with column studies also performed.

Main Results:

• A l-phenylalanine-based eutectogel demonstrated high efficiency in removing cationic dyes.
• The gel exhibited excellent reusability for at least 9 cycles in batch mode and 4 cycles in column mode.
• An impressive adsorption capacity of 1930 mg/g was achieved for rhodamine B.
• Column decolorization reached 85% efficiency in just 10 minutes.

Conclusions:

• l-amino acid-based eutectogels are effective and reusable sorbents for cationic dye removal from wastewater.
• These materials offer a sustainable and competitive alternative to existing gel-based sorbent systems.
• The study highlights the potential of deep eutectic solvent-based supramolecular gels in environmental remediation.