Cooperative Molecular Interaction-Based Highly Efficient Capturing of Ultrashort- and Short-Chain Emerging Per- and
Avijit Pramanik1, Olorunsola Praise Kolawole1, Sanchita Kundu1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi 39217, United States.
New magnetic nanoadsorbents efficiently remove harmful short- and ultrashort-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water. This breakthrough offers a promising solution for remediating PFAS contamination in drinking and environmental water sources.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Short-chain (C4-C7) and ultrashort-chain (C2-C3) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent, bioaccumulative, and carcinogenic contaminants.
- Current technologies struggle to effectively remove these smaller PFAS molecules from drinking and environmental water.
- PFAS are frequently detected in various water sources, posing significant environmental and human health risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel magnetic nanoadsorbents for the efficient removal of short- and ultrashort-chain PFAS.
- To investigate the cooperative interaction mechanisms (hydrophobic, fluorophilic, electrostatic) driving PFAS adsorption.
- To evaluate the performance of the developed nanoadsorbents in real-world water samples.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of nonafluorobutanesulfonyl (NFBS) and polyethylene-imine (PEI)-conjugated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoadsorbents.
- Adsorption experiments to determine PFAS removal efficiency and capacity.
- Comparative studies using modified nanoadsorbents to elucidate the role of specific interactions.
- Analysis of cooperative molecular interactions for ultrashort-chain PFAS capture.
Main Results:
- NFBS-PEI-conjugated magnetic nanoadsorbents achieved ~100% removal of short-chain perfluorobutanesulfonic acid within 30 min, with a high adsorption capacity (qm ~234 mg g-1).
- The NFBS-PEI nanoadsorbent demonstrated superior capture efficiency for ultrashort-chain perfluoropropanesulfonic acid (qm ~187 mg g-1) compared to PEI-only or acid-functionalized nanoadsorbents.
- Simultaneous removal of short-chain (<92%) and ultrashort-chain (<70%) PFAS from diverse environmental water samples was achieved within 30 min.
Conclusions:
- The developed NFBS-PEI-conjugated magnetic nanoadsorbents exhibit high efficiency in removing short- and ultrashort-chain PFAS.
- Cooperative hydrophobic, fluorophilic, and electrostatic interactions are crucial for effective PFAS adsorption, particularly for smaller chain variants.
- These nanoadsorbents show significant potential for real-world PFAS remediation applications in various water matrices.
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