Biomimetic mercury immobilization by selenium functionalized polyphenylene sulfide fabric

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Chemistry

Background:

• Elemental mercury (Hg⁰) poses significant risks to public health and ecosystems.
• Effective decontamination strategies are crucial for mitigating mercury pollution.
• Current methods for Hg⁰ conversion into mercury chalcogenides face challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a biomimetic approach for enhanced Hg⁰ detoxification.
• To create a novel adsorbent material inspired by biological mercury detoxification mechanisms.
• To achieve efficient conversion of Hg⁰ into stable mercury chalcogenides.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing sulfur-rich polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) as a mercury transporter.
• Designing a sulfur-selenium pair to facilitate mercury immobilization.
• Investigating the adsorption capacity and uptake rate of the novel material for Hg⁰.

Main Results:

• The sulfur-selenium pair in PPS demonstrated exceptional Hg⁰ adsorption capacity (1621.9 mg g^-1).
• Achieved an unprecedented Hg⁰ uptake rate of 1005.6 μg g^-1 min^-1.
• Outperformed various benchmark materials in Hg⁰ adsorption and remediation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed biomimetic strategy offers a highly efficient method for Hg⁰ decontamination.
• The developed adsorbent material shows great promise for closing the global mercury cycle.
• This approach could be extended to the remediation of other environmental pollutants.