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Advanced Polymer Composites for Water Treatment

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 829

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Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos, Biotecnología y Energías Alternativas, PROBIEN (CONICET-UNCo), Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Neuquén 8300, Argentina
Interests: nanomaterials; composite materials; mesoporous materials; iron oxides; wastewater treatment; photochemistry; photocatalysis; advanced oxidation processes
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water pollution remains one of the most significant problems facing society today. As the demand for clean water increases, the development and improvement of water treatment technologies have become increasingly vital. In recent decades, a significant amount of research has been carried out on the development of selective and efficient polymeric adsorbents and membranes. However, the search for non-toxic, biocompatible, cost-effective, and highly efficient polymeric nanocomposites remains an active area of research. The aim of this Special Issue is to expand our current knowledge on the latest advances, highlight challenges, address unresolved issues, and propose sustainable methodologies in the development and application of advanced polymer composite materials for water treatment.

Dr. Luciano Carlos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • composite materials
  • mesoporous materials
  • iron oxides
  • wastewater treatment
  • photochemistry
  • photocatalysis
  • advanced oxidation processes

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 9821 KiB  
Article
Removal and Recovery of AgNPs from Water by Sustainable Magnetic Nanoflocculants
by Mariana Ramirez, Eya Ben Khalifa, Giuliana Magnacca, Mario Sergio Moreno, María E. Parolo and Luciano Carlos
Polymers 2025, 17(5), 650; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17050650 - 28 Feb 2025
Viewed by 530
Abstract
The presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in water bodies has emerged as a new environmental concern and the efficient separation of these nanoparticles remains a critical challenge. Here, we developed novel magnetic nanoflocculants for the recovery of AgNPs from water. Alternating layers of [...] Read more.
The presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in water bodies has emerged as a new environmental concern and the efficient separation of these nanoparticles remains a critical challenge. Here, we developed novel magnetic nanoflocculants for the recovery of AgNPs from water. Alternating layers of biopolymers, in particular, chitosan, alginate, and polymeric bio-based soluble substances (BBS) derived from urban waste, were coated on magnetic nanoparticles via the layer-by-layer technique to prepare reusable magnetic nanoflocculants (MNFs). The MNFs obtained were characterized with diverse physicochemical techniques. Surface response methodology, based on the Doehlert matrix, has shown to be a useful tool to determine the effect of pH (in the range 5–9), concentration of AgNPs (7–20 mg L−1), and MNFs (50–1000 mg L−1) on the performance of AgNPs removal. The model predicts a high AgNPs removal percentage at low pH values and high MNF concentration. In particular, for the most efficient MNFs, 90% of AgNPs removal was obtained at pH 5 and 600 mg L−1 MNF concentration. Additionally, the effects of AgNPs size, ionic strength, the presence of humic acids, and two types of surfactants (LAS anionic and TWEEN 20 nonionic) on the AgNPs removal were evaluated. Finally, recovery and reuse experiments showed that MNF made of Chitosan-BBS can be reused in ten cycles, losing only 30% of the initial removal capacity. Therefore, magnetic flocculation could represent a sustainable alternative for AgNPs separation with potential applications in water treatment and remediation of nanoparticle contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Water Treatment)
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