Flowthrough Capture of Microplastics through Polyphenol‐Mediated Interfacial Interactions on Wood Sawdust

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2023-09, Vol.35 (36), p.e2301531-n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Yu, Wang, Mengyue, Wang, Qin, Wang, Taoyang, Zhou, Zhengming, Mehling, Marina, Guo, Tianyu, Zou, Hang, Xiao, Xiao, He, Yunxiang, Wang, Xiaoling, Rojas, Orlando J., Guo, Junling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Drinking water; flowthrough capture; Materials science; Molecular interactions; multi‐molecular interactions; nano‐/microplastics; Plastic pollution; Polyethylene; Polyethylene terephthalate; Polymethyl methacrylate; polyphenols; Polystyrene resins; Polyvinyl chloride; Sawdust; wood sawdust
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202301531

Nano‐/microplastics accumulate in aquatic bodies and raise increasing threats to ecosystems and human health. The limitation of existing water cleanup strategies, especially in the context of nano‐/microplastics, primarily arises from their complexity (morphological, compositional, and dimensional). Here, highly efficient and bio‐based flowthrough capturing materials (bioCap) are reported to remove a broad spectrum of nano‐/microplastics from water: polyethylene terephthalate (anionic, irregular shape), polyethylene (net neutral, irregular shape), polystyrene (anionic and cationic, spherical shape), and other anionic and spherical shaped particles (polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride). Highly efficient bioCap systems that adsorb the ubiquitous particles released from beverage bags are demonstrated. As evidence of removal from drinking water, the in vivo biodistribution of nano‐/microplastics is profiled, confirming a significant reduction of particle accumulation in main organs. The unique advantage of phenolic‐mediated multi‐molecular interactions is employed in sustainable, cost‐effective, and facile strategies based on wood sawdust support for the removal of challenging nano‐/microplastics pollutions. A sustainable, cost‐effective, highly efficient, and bio‐based flowthrough capturing materials (bioCap) are developed based on wood sawdust support for the removal of nano‐/microplastics from water. Due to the unique advantage of phenolic‐mediated multi‐molecular interactions, bioCap is capable of capturing a broad spectrum of nano‐/microplastics with various types (six types), surface charges (anionic, cationic, and neutral), and shapes (spherical and irregular).