The presence of organic compounds in water cannot only affect water quality, such as color, taste and odor, but also leads to the fouling of filters and membranes, which would reduce the efficacy of some advanced water treatment processea. For efficient treatment of organic compounds, we designed a nano-hybrid material, called magnetic permanently confined micelle arrays (Mag-PCMAs), which is a novel composite material consisting of a mesoporous silica matrix, a co-deposited cationic surfactant micelle array, and a nanoscale magnetic silica iron oxide core. In this sorbent, the micelles of confined cationic surfactant adsorb the organic contaminants from water. The magnetic core allows for rapid separation of the Mag-PCMAs from solution by applying a magnetic field. Current sorption studies show that the sorbent is capable of removing up to 99% of organic compounds from water in 60 minutes. Relevant applications are diverse as there are many suitable hydrophobic and cationic sites within the Mag-PCMAs, allowing the removal of a variety of current and emerging organic compounds, including pharmaceuticals and personal care compounds.

Using magnetic permanently confined micelle arrays (Mag-PCMA) to adsorb current and emerging organic contaminants

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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