02.05.2007
РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ НАУК

УРАЛЬСКОЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕ

ИНСТИТУТ ХИМИИ TBEPДОГО ТЕЛА
   
| | | | |
| | | | | |
 02.05.2007   Карта сайта     Language По-русски По-английски
Новые материалы
Экология
Электротехника и обработка материалов
Медицина
Статистика публикаций


02.05.2007



New superabsorbents to clean up future oil spills



30 April 2007



Chemists in Japan have developed what they hope will become a speedy, environmentally benign approach to cleaning up oil and solvent tanker spills. With an ever-increasing number of tankers carrying oil and other volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) around the world, spillages are sadly inevitable.  


The environmental impact can be disastrous, not least because there are so few clean-up options. Current options are limited to burning or dissolving the chemicals by spreading detergent or hoping for bad weather. Kazuki Sada and colleagues at Kyushu University have developed a new class of superabsorbent polymers that can swell to hundreds of times their weight by soaking up nonpolar organic solvents. Superabsorbent polymers are already used to absorb water in a wide variety of applications, including nappies and cosmetics, but this is the first time that less-polar liquids have been absorbed effectively.  


The superabsorbing-power comes from electrostatic repulsion between ionic groups fixed on the polymer, allowing the chain to stretch out and expand as solvent molecules are held in the structure. However, these polymers have a limited ability to absorb oils or VOCs, as the ions in the polymer become aggregated and cause the structure to collapse.  


Sada's team  solved this problem by using small amounts of a bulky lipophilic ionic group (one that also dissolves easily in nonpolar organic solvents) to the polymer chain. The team attached tetra-alkylammonium tetraphenylborate ions to 5 per cent of the monomers that make up the polymer. The polymer - a lipophilic polyelectrolyte gel - could swell to 384 times its weight in tetrahydrofuran and 481 times in dichloromethane.   It also showed a good ability to absorb very nonpolar solvents, such as hexane and toluene.  


Lipophilic polymer gel








Lipophilic polymer gel: dried (a); and swollen in tetrahydrofuran for 48 hours (b)



© Nature Materials



Oil spills can take several years to clean up, and affect hundreds of miles of coastline. It is hoped that these polymers will contain spillages early to prevent environmental catastrophe. 'There are still difficulties to be overcome, but our result is the first step towards making such materials,' Sada told Chemistry World. 'We do not yet know whether our materials are environmentally friendly or not, but our goals are to keep working towards clean, cheap and effective materials that have useful applications.' 


Peter Lovell, professor of polymer science at the University of Manchester, UK, thinks there could be other benefits. 'This research could certainly be useful in the future,' Lovell told Chemistry World. 'Polymers like these could potentially find uses in organic chemistry, perhaps as solid-supports, for example.' 


Lewis Brindley 



References


K Sada et al, Nat. Mater., DOI: 10.1038/nmat1904



Дизайн и программирование N-Studio 
А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я
  • Chen Wev   honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Harton Vladislav Vadim  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Lichtenstain Alexandr Iosif  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Novikov Dimirtii Leonid  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Yakushev Mikhail Vasilii  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • © 2004-2024 ИХТТ УрО РАН
    беременность, мода, красота, здоровье, диеты, женский журнал, здоровье детей, здоровье ребенка, красота и здоровье, жизнь и здоровье, секреты красоты, воспитание ребенка рождение ребенка,пол ребенка,воспитание ребенка,ребенок дошкольного возраста, дети дошкольного возраста,грудной ребенок,обучение ребенка,родить ребенка,загадки для детей,здоровье ребенка,зачатие ребенка,второй ребенок,определение пола ребенка,будущий ребенок медицина, клиники и больницы, болезни, врач, лечение, доктор, наркология, спид, вич, алкоголизм православные знакомства, православный сайт творчeства, православные рассказы, плохие мысли, православные психологи рождение ребенка,пол ребенка,воспитание ребенка,ребенок дошкольного возраста, дети дошкольного возраста,грудной ребенок,обучение ребенка,родить ребенка,загадки для детей,здоровье ребенка,зачатие ребенка,второй ребенок,определение пола ребенка,будущий ребенок