According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than two billion people in our world drink water contaminated in pathogens and heavy metals. The serious problem of unsafe water demands the development of an economically viable and environmentally friendly technology to create a sustainable future. This study demonstrates the development of multifunctional materials by facile and cost-effective routes, which have the capability to solve challenges associated with unsafe drinking water. In this study, the water samples from the Mississippi River and the Mississippi Reservoir were contaminated with cobalt(II) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) superbugs. Targeted Multifunctional Fluorescent-Magnetic Biochar was synthesized by using EDC coupling of Biochar Carbon Dots (BCDs) and PEI-Magnetic Nanoparticles. BCDs that average 4 nm in size, with very bright photo-luminescence, were developed for the identification of pathogens and toxic metals in environmental water samples. Magnetic Nanoparticles were incorporated with BCDs to form Multifunctional Biochar, which allows pathogens and toxic metals to be completely removed from environmental water after separation by an external magnetic field. The photoluminescent BCDs were used for the detection of MRSA superbugs and cobalt(II) toxic metals, whereas Magnetic Nanoparticles were used to capture and separate these contaminates. Multifunctional Fluorescent-Magnetic Biochar has the capability to identify, separate, and remove pathogenic superbugs and toxic metals from environmental water samples. The quantum confinement effect causes Multifunctional Biochar to emit bright blue fluorescence upon the UV irradiation. The Multifunctional Biochar also exhibits strong magnetic properties. This study demonstrates that Multifunctional Biochar can be used effectively for the selective capture and removal of cobalt(II) from environmental samples in the procedure of synthesis between Multifunctional Biochar and cobalt(II). Also, results demonstrate that Multifunctional Biochar can be used to remove 100 percent MRSA from environmental water.

Development of biochar nanocomposites for water purification

ACS Fall 2021

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