An efficient supramolecular adsorbent for co-adsorption of dyes and metal ions from wastewater and its application in self-healing materials

• Published in: Soft matter 2017, Vol.13 (46), p.8772-878
• Main Authors: Yan, Liwei, Lv, Mingqian, Su, Chunjiao, Zheng, Leihao, Li, Jialing, Ye, Zhongbin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Binary mixtures; Copper; Dyes; Gels; Hydrogen bonding; Hydrophobicity; Iron; Metal ions; Self healing materials; Self-assembly; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 1744-683X; 1744-6848
• DOI: 10.1039/c7sm01977g

Herein, a novel type of two-component supramolecular adsorbent, 2 -OA, was developed based on non-covalent interactions using tetrazolyl derivative with octadecylamine (OA) and fully characterized using a number of structural and spectral techniques. The self-assembled 2 -OA gels displayed remarkable stimuli-responsiveness as well as shape-persistent and self-healing properties. In addition, it was found that the adsorbent 2 -OA was able to remove dyes (10 kinds of cationic and anionic dyes) and metal ions (Cu 2+ and Fe 2+ ) simultaneously from wastewater owing to synergistic electrostatic attraction, hydrogen-bonding, and hydrophobic and coordination interactions. It also exhibited excellent co-adsorption capability to dye mixtures and binary mixtures of dyes and metal ions. In particular, the dye/metal-loaded adsorbents could be obtained easily from the aqueous phase, and recycling of the adsorbents could thus be achieved. These results suggest that the supramolecular gel 2 -OA not only has great potential application in wastewater treatment but also provides a strategy for the development of intriguing self-healing materials. An efficient adsorbent was prepared for the adsorption of dyes, metals, and dye mixture or binary mixtures of dyes and metals, which could also be used as a self-healing material.