Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) based materials for removing harmful ions from water

基于聚(N-异丙基丙烯酰胺)(PNIPAM)的水凝胶粒子可以合成直径在100 nm-2000 nm量级。这些颗粒，通常被称为纳米凝胶或微凝胶(取决于它们的直径)是可溶于水的，并通过缩小直径来唯一地对它们所溶解的水的温度升高做出反应。这一特定温度为~32°C，当水温降至32°C以下时，纳米凝胶重新膨胀。此外，这些颗粒具有高度的疏水性；略有疏水性，使其成为有机分子的良好吸着剂；并且具有高浓度的自由电子，可与各种金属离子结合。这项研究将集中在表征基于PNIPAM的纳米凝胶从水中去除各种离子的能力。我们的目标将是对这个系统有足够的了解，这样我们就可以用定制的纳米凝胶来靶向特定的离子。由于艾伯塔省德文市的油砂尾矿研究设施拥有独特的设施，我们在实验室中处于有利地位，可以扩大这一过程。我可以申请这个设施的研究空间，这将允许进行大规模的实验。 我们将设计基于PNIPAM的纳米凝胶： 1)去除受采油工艺影响的水中含有(但不限于)Na、Ca、Al、Pb、Cd、As、Cr、Cu、Fe、Hg、Zn的离子。 2)能够进行处理以从聚合物中提取污染物。 3)提取处理后可重复使用(回收)。

Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm)-based hydrogel particles can be synthesized to be on the order of 100 nm - 2000 nm in diameter. These particles, frequently referred to as nanogels or microgels (depending on their diameter) are water soluble and uniquely respond to increases in the temperature of the water they are dissolved in by shrinking in diameter. This specific temperature is ~32 °C, and the nanogels re-expand upon lowering the water temperature to below 32 °C. Additionally, these particles are highly porous; slightly hydrophobic, which makes them good sorbents for organic molecules; and have a high concentration of free electrons, for binding to various metal ions. This investigation will focus on characterizing pNIPAm-based nanogel ability to remove a variety of ions from water. The goal will be to gain enough of an understanding of this system such that we can target specific ions with tailor made nanogels. We are well positioned in the lab to scale this process up due to the unique facilities available to us at the Oil Sands Tailing Research Facility in Devon, Alberta. I am able to apply for research space at this facility, which will allow for large-scale experiments to take place. We will design pNIPAm-based nanogels that: 1) Remove ions composed of (but not limited to) Na, Ca, Al, Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Zn from water impacted by oil extraction processes. 2) Are able to undergo treatment to extract the contaminants from the polymer. 3) Can be reused (recycled) after the extraction treatment.