CAS: REGENERABLE POLYMERS FOR PHOSPHATE REMOVAL AND RECOVERY FROM WASTEWATER

在化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学(MSN)计划的支持下，明尼苏达大学的Valerie Pierre教授将开发聚合物支持的受体，根据需要可逆地捕获和释放磷酸盐，以修复和净化废水，并回收磷酸盐--确保我们的食品供应所需的关键资源。皮埃尔教授和她的研究团队的目标是合成和研究起海绵作用的聚合物和受体，有选择地从受污染的水中捕获磷酸盐，然后在增加光或压力等刺激时释放它。这种受控的可逆性旨在实现磷酸盐的分离和回收，以及SMART受体的无试剂回收。这一跨学科研究项目将为本科生和研究生提供一系列有用技能的培训机会，包括化学合成、聚合物表征和受体-磷酸盐结合的分析研究。该项目的更广泛影响还包括为中学开发和评估新的动手活动，目标是提高学生在教育早期对科学的兴趣和研究事业。Pierre研究团队寻求开发一种基于变构静电相互作用的一般策略，使离子受体对外部刺激做出反应。这些受体的一个独特之处在于，它们能够在外加物理或化学刺激的情况下根据需要释放客人。这种设计的受体的捕捉和释放特性依赖于可逆的化学反应，例如那些由光、氧化还原电位、温度和压力控制的化学反应。这种可控的可逆性有望使分离成为可能，随后磷酸盐的可控回收和智能聚合物上支撑的受体的无试剂回收。这种方法扩大了超分子离子受体的能力，使它们能够向上释放浓度梯度的客体。明尼苏达州的研究团队进一步寻求将超分子化学的优势与聚合物科学的优势相结合，以实现对被支持接收器的行为的坚实支持控制。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Valerie Pierre of the University of Minnesota will be developing polymer-supported receptors that capture and release phosphate reversibly as needed for remediation and purification of waste water and for recycling phosphate—a critical resource needed to secure our food supply. Professor Pierre and her research team aim to synthesize and study polymers and receptors that function as sponges, capturing the phosphate from polluted water selectively and then releasing it upon addition of stimuli such as light or pressure. This controlled reversibility is designed to enable separation and recovery of phosphate and reagent-less recovery of smart receptors. This interdisciplinary research project will provide training opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students across a range of useful skills, including chemical synthesis, polymer characterization, and analytical studies of the receptor-phosphate binding. Broader impacts of the project also include the development and evaluation of new hands-on activities for middle schools, with the goal of increasing interest in science and the research enterprise in students early in their education.The Pierre research team seeks to develop a general strategy based on allosteric electrostatic interactions to render receptors for ions responsive to external stimuli. A unique aspect of these receptors is their ability to release their guests on demand upon addition of an external physical or chemical stimulus. The catch-and-release properties of such designed receptors rely on reversible chemical reactions, such as those governed by light, redox potential, temperature, and pressure. This controlled reversibility is expected to enable separation followed by controlled recovery of phosphate and reagent-less recovery of receptors supported on smart polymers. This approach broadens the capabilities of supramolecular ion receptors by enabling them to release the guests up a concentration gradient. The Minnesota research team further seeks to combine the strength of supramolecular chemistry with that of polymer science to enable solid support control of the behavior of the supported receptors.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.