Polyelectrolyte gels comprising a lipophilic, cost-effective aluminate as fluorine-free absorbents for chlorinated hydrocarbons and diesel fuel

Exchange Counterion in Polycationic Hydrogels: Tunability of Hydrophobicity, Water State, and Floating Capability for a Floating pH Device

Smart gel materials are capable of controlling and switching swelling, water state, and wettability properties triggered by external stimuli. In this study, we fabricated a series of polyelectrolyte hydrogels bearing a 3-trimethylammoniumpropyl pendant to a methacrylamide-based backbone and examined the switchability with hydrophobic-like counteranions. The exchange between the initial chloride and camphor sulfate (CaS), dodecyl sulfate (DS), and perfluorooctanoate (PFO) counterions was investigated. The kinetics of the exchange showed that the fast exchange (within 4 h) of PFO allowed for a favorable coordination for ion pairing, resulting in a decrease in hydration. The reversibility of the exchange to the Cl⁻ ion was only enabled for the CaS ion due to its bulkiness, while the PFO and DS hydrogels were unable to exchange, even by using tetrabutylammonium chloride, which is a structurally similar reagent, due to aggregation or the coagulates in the collapsed state of the linear tails of the counterions. The hydrogels exhibited a modulable water state and water swelling. Moreover, the hydrogels containing DS and PFO, as counterions, showed surface hydrophobic (contact angle 90°) and high hydrophobic (110°) behavior, respectively. The Raman spectrometry fluorescence with a pyrene probe indicated an increase in strong hydrogen-bonded water molecules, water confinement, and hydrophobic domains in the PFO hydrogel. Moreover, the PFO-modified hydrogel demonstrated a free-floating ability on the water surface, with a strong water repellency, showing that it has the potential to be applied in a floating pH detection device to distinguish between volatile and nonvolatile bases in a controlled manner.

Poly(ionic liquid)s with superior swelling and enrichment properties in solvents

The molar swelling ratio and enrichment factor of poly(ionic liquid)s were linearly positively correlated with the Hansen solubility parameter of the solvent and the difference between the Hansen solubility parameters of mixed solvents, respectively.

New lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels containing quaternary ammonium salt with superabsorbent capacity for organic solvents

Water and soil pollution by organic pollutants from petrochemical plants has become one of the major environmental problems in recent years. Lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels with ionic groups dissociable in nonpolar organic solvents show an enhanced swelling ability in a corresponding media attributed to the electrostatic repulsion and osmotic pressure provided by dissociated ionic groups. Here, we synthesized new lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels based on an easily available electrolyte monomer, methacryloxyethyl dimethyloctane ammonium trifluoromethanesulfonimide (MODAT), and a lipophilic neutral monomer, dodecyl acrylate by radiation-induced polymerization and cross-linking. The resultant lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels could absorb plenty of organic solvents with dielectric constants lower than 20 and exhibited a high absorbing ability at a wide range of temperatures (0-40 °C). The maximum swelling degree could reach as high as 200 g/g in some media, such as 1,2-dichloroethane (199.4 g/g) and dichloromethane (204 g/g), which was much higher than that of the nonionic gel without the addition of MODAT. Moreover, the resultant lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels could release most of the absorbed solvents within several hours and then be reused. It is expected that this new type of lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels may be a suitable candidate as organic pollutant absorbents.

Remarkable swelling capability of amino acid based cross-linked polymer networks in organic and aqueous medium

This work reports design and synthesis of side chain amino acid based cross-linked polymeric gels, able to switch over from organogel to hydrogel by a simple deprotection reaction and showing superabsorbancy in water. Amino acid based methacrylate monomers, tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc)-l/d-alanine methacryloyloxyethyl ester (Boc-l/d-Ala-HEMA), have been polymerized in the presence of a cross-linker via conventional free radical polymerization (FRP) and the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) technique for the synthesis of cross-linked polymer gels. The swelling behaviors of these organogels are investigated in organic solvents, and they behave as superabsorbent materials for organic solvents such as dichloromethane, acetone, tetrahydrofuran, etc. Swollen cross-linked polymer gels release the absorbed organic solvent rapidly. After Boc group deprotection from the pendant alanine moiety, the organogels transform to the hydrogels due to the formation of side chain ammonium (-NH3(+)) groups, and these hydrogels showed a significantly high swelling ratio (∼560 times than their dry volumes) in water. The morphology of organogels and hydrogels is studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Amino acid based cross-linked gels could find applications as absorbents for oil spilled on water as well as superabsorbent hydrogels.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) oil absorbent with a three-dimensionally interconnected porous structure and swellable skeleton

Cleanup of oil spills is a worldwide challenge to prevent serious environmental pollution. A new kind of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) oil absorbent with high absorption capacity and excellent reusability was prepared and used for oil/water separation. The preparation process of PDMS oil absorbents involves direct curing of a PDMS prepolymer in a p-xylene solution in the presence of commercial sugar particles, which is simple and economic. PDMS oil absorbents have interconnected pores and a swellable skeleton, combining the advantages of porous materials and gels. Absorption capacities of PDMS oil absorbents are 4-34 g/g for various oils and organic solvents, which are 3 times that reported previously. Owing to their hydrophobicity and oleophilicity, the as-obtained PDMS oil absorbents can selectively collect oils or organic solvents from water. The absorption process can be finished within tens of seconds. Furthermore, the absorbed oils or organic solvents can be recovered by compressing the oil absorbents, and after 20 absorbing/recovering cycles, PDMS oil absorbents show little loss of their absorption capacities and own weights.