The PMSE Division is providing up to two (2) $500 travel awards to students presenting at the ACS National Meeting Eligibility: PMSE Members who identify as female and/or who are under-represented…

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a diverse range of anthropogenic organic compounds, pose significant concerns to society due to their potential harmful impacts on human health and ecosyste...

The persistent presence of hospital-acquired bacterial infections and the growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains necessitates a greater understanding of the initial adhesion of b...

This work introduces a class of nitrogen-rich porous polymers synthesized via “knitting polymerization” using a redox-active triphenyltriindole monomer. Two synthetic routes-thermal Friedel–Crafts rea...

ConspectusWith the rise of green engineering, there is an increasing need to manufacture materials without relying on organic solvents. Using all-aqueous approaches mitigates the industrial safety and...

We developed polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers embedded with various commercially available metal oxide particles (Fe2O3, TiO2, MnO2, Co3O4, CoFe2O4, ZnFe2O4) via electrospinning for the removal of uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous systems. We compared the performance of composites electrospun with and without the inclusion of phthalic acid (PTA), building on our prior evidence that PTA can promote particle dispersion in precursor sol–gels. Characterization using SEM, TEM, XPS, and BET confirmed that PTA results in improved metal oxide distribution within the polymer fiber, promotes enrichment of metal oxides on the nanofiber surface, and increases composite surface area and porosity. In batch sorption experiments, PTA-containing composites consistently exhibited greater U(VI) uptake than those without PTA, producing more than 2- and 3-fold increases for top-performing Fe2O3 and TiO2 composites, respectively. For Fe2O3 and TiO2 composites with PTA, U(VI) uptake increased from pH 2 to 7, suggesting a contribution from retained phthalic acid (as phthalate), and isotherm studies revealed sorption capacities exceeding ∼8 mg U/g (corresponding to >90% of U(VI) removal) at environmentally relevant concentrations (∼1 μM). These composites are offer a simple, one-pot fabrication route to high-performing U(VI) sorbents in which PTA improves metal oxide distribution, surface area and pore volume of the polymer–metal oxide composites while also contributing to U(VI) uptake via cooperative binding with embedded metal oxides.

In this study, a dopamine derivative was synthesized and employed to yield self-adhering coatings that enabled both strong bacteria resistance and the fabrication of stable liquid-infused membranes (L...