Surface-Engineered Sponge Decorated with Copper Selenide for Highly Efficient Gas-Phase Mercury Immobilization

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Elemental mercury (Hg0) poses significant environmental and health risks, necessitating effective immobilization strategies.
• Balancing performance and cost is crucial for practical Hg0 remediation solutions in industrial settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an economical and high-performance material for capturing vapor-phase elemental mercury (Hg0).
• To create a functionalized sponge with enhanced Hg0 adsorption capabilities for industrial applications.

Main Methods:

• Electroless plating and in situ selenization were employed to synthesize copper selenide (Cu2Se) on a commercial polyurethane sponge (PUS).
• The resulting Cu2Se/PUS composite was characterized for its Hg0 immobilization efficiency.

Main Results:

• The Cu2Se/PUS demonstrated a maximum adsorption capacity of 25.90 mg·g-1 (758.80 mg·g-1 normalized to Cu2Se), achieving 79.7% of the theoretical value.
• An exceptionally high uptake rate of 1275.84 μg·g-1·min-1 was observed, indicating rapid Hg0 adsorption.
• Effective Hg0 immobilization was maintained even under challenging environmental conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed Cu2Se/PUS offers a promising, cost-effective solution for permanent Hg0 sequestration from industrial emissions.
• This study presents a versatile method for fabricating advanced functional sponges for environmental remediation applications.