Amphiphilic Block Copolymer for adsorption of Organic Contaminants

Jae-Woo Choi, Kyung-Youl Baek, Kie-Yong Cho, Natalia Valer’yevna Shim, Sang-Hyup Lee

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DOI: 10.4236/aces.2011.12013                

Abstract

In this study, new polymeric adsorbents, 2 types of polystyrene-block-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PSN, structure of hydrophobic core and hydrophilic shell), were developed and applied for removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. Encapsulation of organic pollutants by the polystyrene-block-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PSN) resulted in increasing hydrophobicity of the polystyrene with abundant hydrophobic spaces within the amphiphilic block copolymer. The encapsulation mechanism of BTEX by PSN was investigated and found to be mainly attributable to the Van der Waals interactions between the aromatic ring of BTEX and the hydrophobic core of PSN. Polystyrene-block-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) showed good potential as a novel and cost effective adsorbent for application to wastewater treatment, which can be simply regenerated and reused using an external temperature changing system.

Keywords

BTEX, Encapsulation, External Temperature Changing System, Polymeric Adsorbent, Van der Waals Force

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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