Synthesis of anionic ionic liquids@TpBd-(SO3)2 for the selective adsorption of cationic dyes with superior capacity.

The discharge of industrial printing and dyeing wastewater is one of the main reasons for the increasing water shortage and deterioration. The treatment of dyestuff wastewater is an issue and needs to be urgently solved. In this work, anionic ionic liquid functional covalent organic materials (COMs) were firstly synthesized and used for the selective adsorption of cationic dyes. First, a series of sulfonic acid group (SO3H)-functionalized anionic TpPa-SO3, TpBd-(SO3)2, and TpCR-(SO3)2 were prepared, respectively, and then imidazole was grafted onto TpBd-(SO3)2 to obtain ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2. The full characterization using X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, zeta-potentials, BET surface and pore analysis indicated that these COMs and ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 exhibited different morphologies, porosities, and potentials. The effects of the type of dye, adsorption time, initial dye concentration, and pH on the adsorption of dyes on ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 were systematically investigated, respectively. The results revealed that ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 possessed good adsorption performance for nine different cationic dyes with adsorption capacities in the range from 2865.3 mg g-1 for methylene blue (MB) to 597.9 mg g-1 for basic orange 2 (BO), but little adsorption for anionic and neutral dyes, revealing charge selectivity. The adsorption ratio of ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 for MB was as high as 74.0% at 10 min by using 1.0 mg material, owing to the post modification of TpBd-(SO3)2 with imidazole. The adsorption of MB on ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 was pH dependent. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics fitted well with the Freundlich and pseudo second-order kinetic model, respectively. Finally, the very outstanding advantages of superior selective adsorption, desorption, convenient preparation, and low density of ImI@TpBd-(SO3)2 predicted its research and application potential in dye wastewater recovery.

Bifunctional supported ionic liquid-based smart films for dyes adsorption and photodegradation.

Herein, novel bifunctional smart films containing poly(styrene-butyl acrylate-ionic liquids) (P(S-BA-ILs)) and TiO2 were first prepared by a simple cast method and then used to demonstrate a superior bifunction of adsorption/desorption for dyes due to the property of reversible wettability switching and photodegradation under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation due to the addition of TiO2. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of P(S-BA-ILs) latex was characterized using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The surface properties of films (P(S-BA-ILs)-TiO2) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total (internal) reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The results showed that the films displayed reversible wettability switching of hydrophobicity (124.5 ±â€¯2°)/hydrophilicity (10.5 ±â€¯2°) and hydrophobicity (35.1 ±â€¯2°)/hydrophilicity (93.1 ±â€¯2°) triggered by pH and temperature, respectively. Additionally, the films exhibited large adsorption capacities for pollutants at different pH: brilliant red (BR) (6.6 mg cm-3) at pH 1, methylene blue (MB) (12.4 mg cm-3) and phenol (1.1 g cm-3) at pH 11, and metal ions As, Mo and Sb (1.11, 1.57, and 1.25 mg cm-3) at pH 1, as well as superior reusability and excellent in situ photodegradation performance. The convenient preparation of the smart films as well as the good bifunction of adsorption and photodegradation for dyes predicts potential for application to curb water pollution.

Ionic liquids monolithic columns for protein separation in capillary electrochromatography.

A series of ionic liquids (ILs) monolithic capillary columns based on 1-vinyl-3-octylimidazolium (ViOcIm(+)) were prepared by two approaches ("one-pot" approach and "anion-exchange" approach). The effects of different anions (bromide, Br(-); tetrafluoroborate, BF4(-); hexafluorophosphate, PF6(-); and bis-trifluoromethanesulfonylimide, NTf2(-)) on chromatography performance of all the resulting columns were investigated systematically under capillary electrochromatography (CEC) mode. The results indicated that all these columns could generate a stable reversed electroosmotic flow (EOF) over a wide pH range from 2.0 to 12.0. For the columns prepared by "one-pot" approach, the EOF decreased in the order of ViOcIm(+)Br(-)>ViOcIm(+)BF4(-)>ViOcIm(+)PF6(-)>ViOcIm(+)NTf2(-) under the same CEC conditions; the ViOcIm(+)Br(-) based column exhibited highest column efficiencies for the test small molecules; the ViOcIm(+)NTf2(-) based column possessed the strongest retention for aromatic hydrocarbons; and baseline separation of four standard proteins was achieved on ViOcIm(+)NTf2(-) based column corresponding to the highest column efficiency of 479,000 N m(-1) for cytochrome c (Cyt c). These results indicated that the property of ILs based columns could be tuned successfully by changing anions, which gave these columns potential to separate both small molecules and macro biomolecules.

A novel ionic liquid monolithic column and its separation properties in capillary electrochromatography.

A novel ionic liquid (IL) monolithic capillary column was successfully prepared by thermal free radical copolymerization of IL (1-vinyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride, ViOcIm(+)Cl(-)) together with lauryl methacrylate (LMA) as the binary functional monomers and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the cross-linker in binary porogen. The proportion of monomers, porogens and cross-linker in the polymerization mixture was optimized in detail. The resulting IL-monolithic column could not only generate a stable reversed electroosmotic flow (EOF) in a wide pH range (2.0-12.0), but also effectively eliminate the wall adsorption of the basic analytes. The obtained IL-monolithic columns were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). These results indicated that the IL-monolithic capillary column possessed good pore properties, mechanical stability and permeability. The column performance was also evaluated by separating different kinds of compounds, such as alkylbenzenes, thiourea and its analogues, and amino acids. The lowest plate height of ~6.8 µm was obtained, which corresponded to column efficiency (theoretical plates, N) of ~147,000 plates m(-1) for thiourea. ILs, as a new type of functional monomer, present a promising option in the fabrication of the organic polymer-based monolithic columns in CEC.

(S)-Ibuprofen-imprinted polymers incorporating gamma-methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane for CEC separation of ibuprofen enantiomers.

In this report, a novel preparation method of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for CEC was developed. Molecularly imprinted monolithic columns for (S)-ibuprofen were prepared and evaluated, in which charged entities responsible for establishing EOF have been derived from gamma-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (gamma-MAPS), which was hydrolyzed following copolymerization with 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPY) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA). The EOF and molecular recognition of the stationary phase were investigated in aqueous and nonaqueous media, respectively. The experimental results indicated that the material showed a reasonably stable EOF and the prepared separation materials were capable of separating racemic ibuprofen, a task that could not be accomplished by MIPs prepared in parallel, using methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer. The efficiency at pH 3.2 for the first-eluted enantiomer and the last-eluted enantiomer (the imprinted analyte) were 128,700 and 2100 plates/m, respectively.