Studying the adsorption of emerging organic contaminants in zeolites with dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations: From numbers to recommendations

Adsorption energies obtained from dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations show a considerable dependence on the choice of exchange-correlation functional and dispersion correction. A number of investigations have employed different approaches to compute adsorption energies of small molecules in zeolites, using reference values from high-level calculations and/or experiments. Such comparative studies are lacking for larger functional organic molecules such as pharmaceuticals or personal care products, despite their potential relevance for applications, e. g., in contaminant removal or drug delivery. The present study aims to fill this gap by comparing adsorption energies and, for selected cases, equilibrium structures of emerging organic contaminants adsorbed in MOR- and FAU-type all-silica zeolites. A total of 13 dispersion-corrected DFT approaches are compared, including methods using a pairwise dispersion correction as well as non-local van der Waals density functionals. While absolute values of adsorption energies vary widely, qualitative trends across the set of zeolite-guest combinations are not strongly dependent on the choice of functional. For selected cluster models, DFT adsorption energies are compared to reference values from coupled cluster (DLPNO-CCSD(T)) calculations. Although all DFT approaches deliver systematically more negative adsorption energies than the coupled cluster reference, this tendency is least pronounced for the rev-vdW-DF2 functional.

Nanoarchitectonics Design Strategy of Metal-Organic Framework and Bio-Metal-Organic Framework Composites for Advanced Wastewater Treatment through Adsorption

Freshwater depletion is an alarm for finding an eco-friendly solution to treat wastewater for drinking and domestic applications. Though several methods like chlorination, filtration, and coagulation-sedimentation are conventionally employed for water treatment, these methods need to be improved as they are not environmentally friendly, rely on chemicals, and are ineffective for all kinds of pollutants. These problems can be addressed by employing an alternative solution that is effective for efficient water treatment and favors commercial aspects. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs), an emerging porous material, possess high stability, pore size tunability, greater surface area, and active sites. These MOFs can be tailored; thus, they can be customized according to the target pollutant. Hence, MOFs can be employed as adsorbents that effectively target different pollutants. Bio-MOFs are a kind of MOFs that are incorporated with biomolecules, which also possess properties of MOFs and are used as a nontoxic adsorbent. In this review, we elaborate on the interaction between MOFs and target pollutants, the role of linkers in the adsorption of contaminants, tailoring strategy that can be employed on MOFs and Bio-MOFs to target specific pollutants, and we also highlight the effect of environmental matrices on adsorption of pollutants by MOFs.

Zeolites as Ingredients of Medicinal Products

Development of new medicinal products for particular therapeutic treatment or for better manipulations with better quality and less side effects are possible as a result of advanced inorganic and organic materials application, among which zeolites, due to their properties and versatility, have been gaining attention. This paper is an overview of the development in the use of zeolite materials and their composites and modifications as medicinal products for several purposes such as active agents, carriers, for topical treatments, oral formulations, anticancer, the composition of theragnostic systems, vaccines, parenteral dosage forms, tissue engineering, etc. The objective of this review is to explore the main properties of zeolites and associate them with their drug interaction, mainly addressing the advances and studies related to the use of zeolites for different types of treatments due to their zeolite characteristics such as molecule storage capacity, physical and chemical stability, cation exchange capacity, and possibility of functionalization. The use of computational tools to predict the drug-zeolite interaction is also explored. As conclusion was possible to realize the possibilities and versatility of zeolite applications as being able to act in several aspects of medicinal products.

Environmental and Pharmacokinetic Aspects of Zeolite/Pharmaceuticals Systems—Two Facets of Adsorption Ability

Zeolites belong to aluminosilicate microporous solids, with strong and diverse catalytic activity, which makes them applicable in almost every kind of industrial process, particularly thanks to their eco-friendly profile. Another crucial characteristic of zeolites is their tremendous adsorption capability. Therefore, it is self-evident that the widespread use of zeolites is in environmental protection, based primarily on the adsorption capacity of substances potentially harmful to the environment, such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, or other industry pollutants. On the other hand, zeolites are also recognized as drug delivery systems (DDS) carriers for numerous pharmacologically active agents. The enhanced bioactive ability of DDS zeolite as a drug carrying nanoplatform is confirmed, making this system more specific and efficient, compared to the drug itself. These two applications of zeolite, in fact, illustrate the importance of (ir)reversibility of the adsorption process. This review gives deep insight into the balance and dynamics that are established during that process, i.e., the interaction between zeolites and pharmaceuticals, helping scientists to expand their knowledge necessarily for a more effective application of the adsorption phenomenon of zeolites.

Development and validation of an improved method for the detection of Salmonella in cinnamon bark and oregano leaves using the adsorbent beta zeolite in the pre-enrichment media

The detection of Salmonella in spices is challenging due to the presence of antibacterial components. In this study, we evaluated the use of an adsorbent beta zeolite in pre-enrichment media to improve the recovery of Salmonella from cinnamon bark and oregano leaves. Samples (25 g) were spiked with varying levels of S. Montevideo or S. Senftenberg. After 2 weeks of stabilization at RT, betazeolite was added to cinnamon and oregano samples prior to the addition of 225 mL or 475 mL of pre-enrichment media, respectively. Detection sensitivity and rate of the test method were compared to the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) method which requires the use of 2.5 L pre-enrichment broth. While Salmonella could not be detected in the test method using the reduced volume of pre-enrichment media alone, the addition of beta zeolite resulted in a positivity rate of 62% and 72.6% for cinnamon bark and oregano leaves respectively (all spike levels and both serovars combined). Furthermore, while there were differences in the LOD₅₀ compared to the BAM method, there was no significant difference in the minimum level of detection between the betazeolite and the BAM methods. Our results demonstrate that the use of betazeolite in the pre-enrichment media offers a method with reduced media volumes without compromising on the sensitivity or efficiency of Salmonella detection in cinnamon bark and oregano leaves.

L-Lysine Amino Acid Adsorption on Zeolite L: a Combined Synchrotron, X-Ray and Neutron Diffraction Study

Combined neutron and X-ray powder diffraction techniques highlighted the sorption capacity of the acidic L zeolite towards the L-lysine amino acid. The role of zeolite channels in the stabilization of the lysine absorbed and the effect of water on protein structure are elucidated at atomistic level. The stabilization of the L α-helical conformation is related to strong H-bonds between the tail aminogroups of lysine molecules and the Brønsted acid site as well as to complex intermolecular H-bond system between water molecules, zeolite and amino acid. This finding is relevant in the catalytic synthesis of polypeptide, as well as in industrial biotechnology by qualitatively predicting binding behaviour.

High-Silica Zeolites as Sorbent Media for Adsorption and Pre-Concentration of Pharmaceuticals in Aqueous Solutions

The present work focused on the use of high-silica commercial zeolites as sorbent media for pharmaceuticals in an aqueous matrix. As drug probes, ketoprofen, hydrochlorothiazide, and atenolol were selected, because of their occurrence in surface waters and effluents from wastewater treatment plants. Pharmaceuticals adsorption was evaluated for two Faujasite topology zeolites with Silica/Alumina Ratio 30 and 200. The selected zeolites were demonstrated to be efficient sorbents towards all investigated pharmaceuticals, thanks to their high saturation capacities (from 12 to 32% w/w) and binding constants. These results were corroborated by thermal and structural analyses, which revealed that adsorption occurred inside zeolite’s porosities, causing lattice modifications. Finally, zeolites have been tested as a pre-concentration media in the dispersive-solid phase extraction procedure. Recoveries higher than 95% were gained for ketoprofen and hydrochlorothiazide and approximately 85% for atenolol, at conditions that promoted the dissolution of the neutral solute into a phase mainly organic. The results were obtained by using a short contact time (5 min) and reduced volume of extraction (500 µL), without halogenated solvents. These appealing features make the proposed procedure a cost and time saving method for sample enrichment as well as for the regeneration of exhausted sorbent, rather than the more energetically expensive thermal treatment.

Graphene-oxide loading on natural zeolite particles for enhancement of adsorption properties

Multiple methods of grafting graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets to natural clinoptilolite-rich zeolite particles were developed in our laboratory. In this study, we have systematically characterized the GO coated particles prepared by various methods to select the most promising method for further research efforts. This study revealed that the most promising coating method was the clean-acid-treated zeolite particles followed by deposition of GO nanosheets onto the zeolite surface and mild thermal treatment of the particles. GO and its synergistic interaction in zeolite was attributed to electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Hydrophobic interactions are enhanced both due to dealumination of zeolite caused by the cleaning method followed by acid treatment and due to partial thermal deoxygenation of GO. This method provided a ten times larger surface area (from 10.55 m² g⁻¹ to 117.96 m² g⁻¹) and three times smaller pore diameter (from 81.91 Å to 30.68 Å), providing great particles for a variety of applications as adsorbents or catalysts.

Multiple methods of grafting graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets to natural clinoptilolite-rich zeolite particles were developed in our laboratory.

The Triple Mechanisms of Atenolol Adsorption on Ca-Montmorillonite: Implication in Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment

The adsorption of atenolol (AT) from aqueous solutions by Ca-montmorillonite (SAz-2) was investigated in batch studies under different physicochemical conditions. The AT existed in neutral un-dissociated form at pH 10, and was adsorbed on dioctahedral smectite (SAz-2) obeying the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 330 mmol/kg. The kinetic adsorption suggested that both strong and weak adsorption sites existed on SAz-2 and participated in the adsorption mechanisms. The amount of exchangeable cations desorbed from SAz-2 during AT adsorption was linearly correlated with the amounts of adsorbed AT having slopes of 0.43, which implied that a cation exchange based adsorption mechanism was also in place. A comprehensive basal spacing change of SAz-2 was observed after AT adsorption on the clay mineral when tested with or without AT recrystallization. The intercalation of AT into the SAz-2 interlayers did not result in swelling due to the low adsorption capacity of the drug. Prominent interactions between the pharmaceutical molecule and SAz-2 were evidenced by apparent shifts of the infrared absorption bands after adsorption. The interlayer configurations and hydrogen bonding of AT on SAz-2 were also supported by infrared, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analyses. This study suggested that SAz-2 is an excellent material to remove not only AT from pharmaceutical wastewater, but can potentially remove many other β-receptor blocker drugs. The results helped us to understand the possible interlayer configurations and adsorption mechanisms of the drugs on natural clay mineral based adsorbents.

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of emerging contaminants at WO3/BiVO4 photoanodes in aqueous solution

Advantages and limitations of WO₃/BiVO₄ heterojunctions applied to the photoelectrochemical treatment of some environmental Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC).

Experimental and QSAR studies on adsorptive interaction of anionic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with activated charcoal

Adsorptive interactions, namely adsorption capacity (q_m) and affinity (b), between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in anionic forms and commercial activated charcoal (AC), were estimated by isotherm experiment in a batch, and the properties were modeled based on the concept of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR). Experimental results showed that AC had a high q_m (0.38-0.67 mmol g^-1) and b (14.03-930.8 L mmol^-1) for the selected NSAIDs. In QSAR modeling, linear free energy relationship (LFER) descriptors of excess molar refraction (E), dipolarity/polarizability (S), and Coulombic interactions of anions (J^-) were highly related to log q_m, and the combination of the three terms could predict log q_m in R² of 0.97 and SE of 0.015 log unit. In the case of b, only single B term showed a good correlation with log b in R² of 0.81. Additionally, the combination of hydrogen-bonding acceptors (HBAs) and molar volume (MV), which are easily calculable parameters, could also derive good predictability in R² = 0.81 and SE = 0.26 log unit. Afterwards, validation of the QSAR models based on the leave-one-out cross-validation (Q²_LOO) method showed that the models were acceptable.

A remarkable adsorbent for removal of contaminants of emerging concern from water: Porous carbon derived from metal azolate framework-6

A series of metal-azolate frameworks or MAFs-MAF-4, -5, and -6-were synthesized and pyrolyzed to prepare porous carbons derived from MAFs (CDM-4, -5, -6, respectively). Not only the obtained carbons but also MAFs were characterized and applied for the adsorption of organic contaminants of emerging concern (CECs, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products) such as salicylic acid, clofibric acid, diclofenac sodium, bisphenol-A, and oxybenzone (OXB) from water. CDM-6 was found to be the most remarkable adsorbent among the tested ones (including activated carbon) for all the adsorbates. OXB was taken as a representative adsorbate for detailed adsorption studies as well as understanding the adsorption mechanism. H-bonding (H-acceptor: CDM; H-donor: CECs) was suggested as the principal mechanism for the adsorption of tested adsorbates. Finally, CDMs, especially CDM-6, were suggested as highly efficient and easily recyclable adsorbents for water purification.