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

基于聚（N-异丙基丙烯酰胺）（pNIPAm）的水凝胶颗粒可以被合成为直径为100 nm - 2000 nm的量级。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）是水溶性的，并且通过直径收缩而独特地响应于它们溶解在其中的水的温度的增加。该特定温度为~32 °C，并且纳米凝胶在将水温降低至低于32 °C时重新膨胀。此外，这些颗粒是高度多孔的;略微疏水的，这使得它们成为有机分子的良好吸附剂;并且具有高浓度的自由电子，用于结合各种金属离子。这项研究将集中在表征pNIPAm基纳米凝胶从水中去除各种离子的能力。我们的目标是对这个系统有足够的了解，这样我们就可以用特制的纳米凝胶来靶向特定的离子。由于位于阿尔伯塔德文郡的油砂尾矿研究设施为我们提供了独特的设施，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，其： 1)从受采油工艺影响的水中去除由（但不限于）Na、Ca、Al、Pb、Cd、As、Cr、Cu、Fe、Hg、Zn组成的离子。 2)能够进行处理以从聚合物中提取污染物。 3)萃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.