Multifunctional and Recollectable Carbon Nanotube Ponytails for Water Purification

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising nanomaterials that have the potential to revolutionize water treatment practices in the future. The direct use of unbounded CNTs, however, poses health risks to humans and ecosystems because they are difficult to separate from treated water. Here, we report the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS applied materials & interfaces 2014-06, Vol.6 (12), p.9426-9434
Main Authors: Wang, Haitao, Ma, Hanyu, Zheng, Wen, An, Dingding, Na, Chongzheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Filtration
Humans
Nanotubes, Carbon - chemistry
Nitrophenols - chemistry
Water - chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry
Water Purification
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Summary:Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising nanomaterials that have the potential to revolutionize water treatment practices in the future. The direct use of unbounded CNTs, however, poses health risks to humans and ecosystems because they are difficult to separate from treated water. Here, we report the design and synthesis of carbon nanotube ponytails (CNPs) by integrating CNTs into micrometer-sized colloidal particles, which greatly improves the effectiveness of post-treatment separation using gravitational sedimentation, magnetic attraction, and membrane filtration. We further demonstrate that CNPs can effectively perform major treatment tasks including adsorption, disinfection, and catalysis. Using model pollutants such as methylene blue, Escherichia coli, and p-nitrophenol, we show that all the surfaces of individual CNTs in CNPs are accessible during water treatment. Our results suggest that the rational design of hierarchical structures represents a feasible approach to develop nanomaterials for engineering applications such as water and wastewater treatment.
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/am501810f