Runoff of pollutants, like the herbicide 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic (2,4-D), from agricultural use can negatively impact natural water systems. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which is present in all natural waters, can sometimes also be of concern under certain conditions. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown some promise for the removal of pollutants from water. We studied the efficiency of adsorption by CNTs of 2,4-D, DOC, and a mixture of the two. In the case of the mixture, it appears that there is competition for adsorption sites, with DOC showing a significant affinity for adsorption to the CNTs. Because 2,4-D and DOC have overlapping UV-Vis absorption bands, the traditional method (absorption spectroscopy) for monitoring CNT adsorption was not feasible. Instead, we employed a method of multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy with chemometrics in order to study the removal of these compounds by CNTs. The results of this study could provide the field with a new method for monitoring CNT adsorption of pollutants in complex mixtures and also inform researchers about the dynamics of adsorption in a real-word scenarios (in the presence of DOC).

Analysis of pollutant removal from environmental water samples by carbon nanotubes

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.