{"title":"A layer-by-layer assembled superhydrophobic composite aerogel for rapid and high-capacity removal of microplastics from beverages.","authors":"Qiyue Zhao, Xingxu Jiang, Ergen Bao, Hong-Man Hou, Gong-Liang Zhang, Jingran Bi","doi":"10.1039/d5mh00512d","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The hierarchical integration of porous materials with rigid frameworks and biopolymer components enhances their adsorption performance. While combining porous substances with cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) to create high-performance hybrid aerogels holds significant potential, achieving this remains challenging due to suboptimal interfacial bonding and insufficient structural reinforcement from CNFs. In this study, a superhydrophobic composite aerogel (AG<sup>U6-(OH)<sub>2</sub></sup>@PMSQ) was synthesized using a sequential bottom-up and layer-by-layer <i>in situ</i> growth strategy based on a robust dual-network structure formed by the \"egg-box structure\" and CNFs. The hierarchical porosity and superhydrophobicity of AG<sup>U6-(OH)<sub>2</sub></sup>@PMSQ provided excellent adsorption capacity and sensitivity for polystyrene microplastics (PSM). The adsorption kinetics revealed that the adsorption capacity for PSM reached an impressive 555.556 mg g<sup>-1</sup> within a short timeframe of 100 min. D-R model analysis indicated that hydrophobic interactions were the primary driving force behind the adsorption of PSM by AG<sup>U6-(OH)<sub>2</sub></sup>@PMSQ. Meanwhile, simulation calculations confirmed that hydrogen bonding and C-H⋯π interactions also contribute to the adsorption process. Furthermore, AG<sup>U6-(OH)<sub>2</sub></sup>@PMSQ demonstrated exceptional adsorption stability, reproducibility, and a high PSM removal rate in aqueous matrices. This innovative research offers a new insight for contaminant control in complex matrix environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":87,"journal":{"name":"Materials Horizons","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Materials Horizons","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5mh00512d","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The hierarchical integration of porous materials with rigid frameworks and biopolymer components enhances their adsorption performance. While combining porous substances with cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) to create high-performance hybrid aerogels holds significant potential, achieving this remains challenging due to suboptimal interfacial bonding and insufficient structural reinforcement from CNFs. In this study, a superhydrophobic composite aerogel (AGU6-(OH)2@PMSQ) was synthesized using a sequential bottom-up and layer-by-layer in situ growth strategy based on a robust dual-network structure formed by the "egg-box structure" and CNFs. The hierarchical porosity and superhydrophobicity of AGU6-(OH)2@PMSQ provided excellent adsorption capacity and sensitivity for polystyrene microplastics (PSM). The adsorption kinetics revealed that the adsorption capacity for PSM reached an impressive 555.556 mg g-1 within a short timeframe of 100 min. D-R model analysis indicated that hydrophobic interactions were the primary driving force behind the adsorption of PSM by AGU6-(OH)2@PMSQ. Meanwhile, simulation calculations confirmed that hydrogen bonding and C-H⋯π interactions also contribute to the adsorption process. Furthermore, AGU6-(OH)2@PMSQ demonstrated exceptional adsorption stability, reproducibility, and a high PSM removal rate in aqueous matrices. This innovative research offers a new insight for contaminant control in complex matrix environments.