Thermoresponsive Polymers for Water Treatment and Collection
Thermoresponsive Polymers for Water Treatment and Collection
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.macromol.1c01502
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发表时间：
2022-03-22
期刊：
影响因子：
5.5
通讯作者：
Priestley, Rodney D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Xu, Xiaohui;Bizmark, Navid;Priestley, Rodney D.
为了可持续地克服目前淡水短缺的问题，将需要新的技术，从一系列来源生产饮用水，包括海水和大气中的水分。此外，我们必须从废水流中回收和再利用水，以减少我们的全球水足迹。迄今为止，仍然存在对环境/生态影响、高能耗和当前技术的大量维护成本的重大关切，这些技术可能会阻止它们过渡到更可持续的饮用水生产路线。能够实现低能量水生产的一类材料是热敏聚合物。由于其独特的相行为、生产灵活性和生物相容性，这些材料可以在当前和新技术中实现可持续的淡水途径。在这方面，我们具体总结了聚（N-异丙基丙烯酰胺）-（PNIPAm-）为基础的温敏微凝胶和水凝胶的设计和应用。特别是，我们展示了这些材料如何用于水净化，包括废水处理，海水淡化和从大气中收集水分。最后，我们讨论了将当前的温敏材料转化为实用的水相关技术的机遇和挑战。
To overcome the current scarcity of fresh water sustainably, new technologies will be required that produce potable water from a range of sources, including seawater and moisture from the atmosphere. Moreover, we must recover and reuse water from wastewater streams to reduce our global water footprint. To date, there remain significant concerns about the environmental/ecological impact, high energy consumption, and extensive maintenance costs of current technologies that might prevent their transition to more sustainable routes of potable water generation. One class of material that can enable low-energy water production is thermoresponsive polymers. Due to their unique phase behavior, production flexibility, and biocompatibility, these materials may allow for sustainable routes to fresh water in current and new technologies. In this Perspective, we specifically summarize the design and application of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)- (PNIPAm-) based thermoresponsive microgels and hydrogels. In particular, we show how these materials have been used for water purification, including wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, and moisture harvesting from the atmosphere. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of transforming current thermoresponsive materials into practical water-related technologies.