Search

Graphene oxide (GO) and its composite membranes have exhibited great potential for application in water purification and desalination. This article reports that a novel graphene oxide membrane (GOM) of ~5 &micro, m thickness was fabricated onto a nylon membrane by vacuum filtration and cross-linked by amino acids (L-alanine, L-phenylalanine, and serine). The GOM cross-linked by amino acids (GOM-A) exhibits excellent stability, high water flux, and high rejection to metal ions. The rejection coefficients to alkali and alkaline earth metal ions through GOM-A were over 94% and 96%, respectively. The rejection coefficients decreased with an increasing H+ concentration. Metal ions (K+, Ca2+, and Fe3+) can be inserted into GOM-A layers, which enlarges the interlayer spacing of GOM-A and neutralizes the electronegativity of the membrane, resulting in the decease in the rejection coefficients to metal ions. Meanwhile, GOM-A showed quite high antibacterial efficiency against E. coli. With the excellent performance as described above, GOM-A could be used to purify and desalt water.

Poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide-co-acrylicacid) (P(DEA-co-AA)) was synthesized by Free-Radical polymerization. The effects of contact time, solid/liquid ratio, pH value, and initial concentration on the adsorption of Th4+ ions onto P(DEA-co-AA) were investigated. The adsorption was highly dependent on the initial pH and initial metal ions concentration of the solvent. The adsorption kinetic data indicated that the chemical adsorption is a swiftness processes, the adsorption equilibrium could be achieved within 20 min. The adsorption isotherm of the microgels for Th4+ is fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model. Gibbs free enthalpy change was ∆G

The cation transport behavior of thermally treated reduced graphene oxide membranes (GOMs) is reported. The GOMs were reduced by heat treatment at 25, 80, and 120 &deg, C and then characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine oxygen group content, C/O ratio, and layer spacing. The permeation rates of various cations with different sizes and charge numbers through these membranes were measured to understand the effect of the cations on transport behavior. The results indicated that the cation transport through the membranes depended on the layer spacing of the membrane and ion size and charge. Cations of the same valence permeating through the same GOM could be differentiated by their hydration radius, whereas the same type of cation passing through different GOMs could be determined by the spacing of the GOM layers. The cation valence strongly affected permeation behavior. The GOM that was prepared at 120 &deg, C exhibited a narrow layer spacing and high separation factors for Mg/Ca, Mg/Sr, K/Ca, and K/Fe. The cations moving through the membrane could insert into the membrane lamellas, which neutralized the negative charge of the membrane, enlarged the layer spacing of the GOMs, and affected cation permeation.

Task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs) of a novel class, with the diglycolamide moietity grafted in the alkyl chain of imidazolium cation, were synthesized and characterized. Lanthanide complexation capabilities of TSILs as active components of solid phase extractants were evaluated by studies on the adsorption of lanthanides from aqueous solutions. The TSIL-based solid adsorbents prepared by immobilization of long-alkyl-chain TSILs in siliceous mesostructured cellular foams adsorb trivalent lanthanides. No extraction of lanthanides from aqueous solution into 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C6mim][Nf2T]) was observed at any acidity in the presence of these TSILs in the aqueous phase. This implies that TSILs suppress the extraction of lanthanides by formation of water-soluble complexes. The TSILs added to solvent extraction systems consisting of N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl-3-oxapentanediamide (TODGA) in [C6mim][Nf2T] and aqueous HNO3 solutions show very good stripping properties for lanthanides.

Sorption of Th(IV) on Zr2O(PO4)2 as a function of contact time, reaction temperature, pH, ionic strength and solid-to-liquid ratio (m/V) is studied under ambient condition by using batch technique. Effects of fulvic acid (FA), phosphate, sulfate and citrate on Th(IV) sorption are investigated in detail. A pseudo-second-order rate equation is used to simulate the kinetic sorption. The removal of Th(IV) increases with increasing pH and hardly depends on ionic strength. Sorption of Th(IV) increases with increasing m/V and reaction temperature. The presence of FA and phosphate enhances the sorption of Th(IV) on Zr2O(PO4)2 while sulfate and citrate decrease the sorption. The Langmuir and Freundlich models are used to simulate the sorption isotherm of Th(IV) on Zr2O(PO4)2 at different temperatures. The thermodynamic data (i.e., ∆H 0, ∆S 0, ∆G 0) are calculated from temperature dependent sorption isotherms. The results suggest that the sorption process of Th(IV) on Zr2O(PO4)2 is spontaneous and endothermic.