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Functional Polymer Materials for Efficient Adsorption of Pollutants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 417

Special Issue Editor

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China
Interests: polymers; environmental research; pollutant adsorption and removal

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With increasing concerns over human health risks and ecological sustainability, there is a pressing need for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions to address contamination from industrial, agricultural, and domestic sources. This Special Issue, entitled "Functional Polymer Materials for Efficient Adsorption of Pollutants", aims to explore the latest advancements and innovations in the development of polymer-based materials designed for the effective adsorption of environmental pollutants.

This Special Issue focuses on the design, synthesis, and application of functional polymers that exhibit superior adsorption capabilities for a wide range of pollutants, such as heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plastic additives, and so on. Furthermore, this Special Issue will delve into the mechanistic insights underlying adsorption processes, offering a deeper understanding of material–pollutant interactions at the molecular level. Therefore, we invite contributions that highlight novel polymer architectures, innovative functional strategies, and advanced characterization techniques, as well as studies on adsorption kinetics, selectivity, and material recyclability. I believe this Special Issue will not only advance the field of pollutant remediation but also contribute to the development of next-generation materials for environmental monitoring and sustainable resource management.

Dr. Jing Jin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymer-based materials
  • environmental pollutants
  • pollutant remediation
  • adsorption kinetics
  • material recyclability
  • sustainable development

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 6122 KiB  
Article
Theoretical DFT Analysis of a Polyacrylamide/Amylose Copolymer for the Removal of Cd(II), Hg(II), and Pb(II) from Aqueous Solutions
by Joaquin Hernandez-Fernandez, Yuly Maldonado-Morales, Rafael Gonzalez-Cuello, Ángel Villabona-Ortíz and Rodrigo Ortega-Toro
Polymers 2025, 17(14), 1943; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17141943 - 16 Jul 2025
Viewed by 327
Abstract
This study theoretically investigates the potential of a polyacrylamide copolymerized with amylose, a primary component of starch, to evaluate its efficiency in removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater. This material concept seeks to combine the high adsorption capacity of polyacrylamide with the low [...] Read more.
This study theoretically investigates the potential of a polyacrylamide copolymerized with amylose, a primary component of starch, to evaluate its efficiency in removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater. This material concept seeks to combine the high adsorption capacity of polyacrylamide with the low cost and biodegradability of starch, ultimately aiming to offer an economical, efficient, and sustainable alternative for wastewater treatment. To this end, a computational model based on density functional theory (DFT) was developed, utilizing the B3LYP functional with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set, a widely recognized combination that strikes a balance between accuracy and computational cost. The interactions between an acrylamide-amylose (AM/Amy) polymer matrix, as well as the individual polymers (AM and Amy), and the metal ions Pb, Hg, and Cd in their hexahydrated form (M·6H2O) were analyzed. This modeling approach, where M represents any of these metals, simulates a realistic aqueous environment around the metal ion. Molecular geometries were optimized, and key parameters such as total energy, dipole moment, frontier molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) energy levels, and Density of States (DOS) graphs were calculated to characterize the stability and electronic reactivity of the molecules. The results indicate that this proposed copolymer, through its favorable electronic properties, exhibits a high adsorption capacity for metal ions such as Pb and Cd, positioning it as a promising material for environmental applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymer Materials for Efficient Adsorption of Pollutants)
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