Stable silica gel-bound crown ethers. Selective separation of metal ions and a potential for separations of amine enantiomers

Silica gel-bound crown ethers and aza macrocycles have been synthesized with the attaching arm connected to the carbon framework of the macrocycles. The interactions of these bound macrocycles with cations are almost identical to those involving the analogous free macrocycles. This has allowed for predictable cation separation, concentration, and removal processes to be performed on a small scale. Quantum mechanical calculations and NMR measurements indicate that similarly bound chiral macrocycles will be capable of use in separating chiral organic amines.Dedicated to the memory of Professor James J. Christensen who died on 5 September 1987.     

Synthesis of silica adsorbent and its selective separation for flavone

One kind of built-in silica adsorbent, which has high adsorption selectivity to rutin, was synthesized using molecular imprinting technology by the following steps: synthesis of precursor from the reaction between water soluble rutin (as template molecule) and the functional monomer chloropropyltriethoxysilane, co-hydrolysis of the precursor and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), sol-gel aging process, and removal of template molecules. The results of adsorption experiment show that this adsorbent has a high adsorption capacity for rutin, and good adsorption selectivity towards rutin even under the interference of a flavone with a similar structure. TEM photos suggest that nanocaves corresponding to rutin were formed inside the adsorbent while FTIR spectra indicate that new bond was generated during the recognition process. __________ Translated from Journal of Tianjin University, 2007, 40(4): 411–415 [译自: 天津大学学报]     

Succinic acid functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica for the magnetic assisted separation of uranium from aqueous solution

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The magnetite embedded mesoporous silica was prepared and functionalized with succinic acid, (abbreviated as Fe-MCM-SUC) for targeted adsorption...     

Hierarchically imprinted organic-inorganic hybrid sorbent for selective separation of mercury ion from aqueous solution

A new type of hierarchically organic-inorganic hybrid sorbent was prepared by a double-imprinting approach for the selective separation of Hg(II) from aqueous solution. In the imprinting process, both mercury ions and surfactant micelles (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) were used as templates, N-[3-(trimethoxy-silyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (TPED) as functional monomer, and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as cross-linking agent. The mercury ions and surfactant were removed from sorbent via acid leaching and ethanol extraction, respectively. The adsorption property and selective recognition ability of the sorbents were studied by equilibrium-adsorption method. Results showed that in the presence of Cu(II) or Cd(II) the biggest selectivity coefficient of the imprinted sorbents for Hg(II) was over 100, which is much higher than those of non-imprinted sorbents. The largest relative selectivity coefficient (k′) of the ion-imprinted functionalized sorbent between Hg(II) and Cu(II) was over 300, and between Hg(II) and Cd(II) over 200. The uptake capacities and the selectivity coefficients of the hierarchically imprinted sorbent were much higher than those of the sorbent prepared without CTAB template. Furthermore, the new imprinted sorbent possessed a fast kinetics for the removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solution with the saturation time less than 5 min, and could be used repeatedly. This sorbent has been successfully applied to the separation and determination of the trace Hg(II) in real water samples and those spiked with standards. This new sorbent can be used as an effective solid-phase extraction material for the selective preconcentration and separation of Hg(II) in environmental samples.     

Ion imprinted sol-gel nanotubes membrane for selective separation of copper ion from aqueous solution

Selective separation of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution was accomplished with a new type of ion-imprinted silica nanotube membrane. A study on its capability for adsorption and selective recognition showed that best selectivity coefficient over Zn(II) ion was over 150, which is much higher than those of control silica nanotube membranes. The largest relative selectivity coefficient over Zn(II) was >200. The new membrane also possess a fast kinetics for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution, an equilibrium period of <30 min, and suitability for repeated use. Hence, the new membrane acts as an effective material for highly selective preconcentration and separation of Cu(II) ion.     

A fluorescence reagent for the highly selective recognition and separation of lead ion (II) from aqueous solutions

A new fluorescence reagent, N,N-bi[4(1-pyrene)-butyroyl]-lysine (1) was synthesized. The new fluorescence sensor showed high sensitivity (detection limit up to 20.7 μg L⁻¹) and specific selectivity for Pb²⁺ over other metal ions examined in aqueous solutions. It could also be used to remove Pb²⁺ from aqueous solutions by filtering the insoluble 1–Pb²⁺ complex with sufficient reversibility.     

High performance liquid chromatography with cyclodextrin and calixarene macrocycle bonded silica stationary phases for separation of steroids

β-Cyclodextrin, p-tert-butyl-calix[8]arene and chloropropyl bonded silica stationary phases have been prepared and were applied at the same time to develop a chromatographic procedure to separate steroids. In order to select the best type of stationary phase for the analysis, similar preparation processes of the two kinds of macrocycle stationary phases with the same spacer were adopted respectively. The chromatographic behaviors and retention mechanisms of the two kinds of macrocycle stationary phases for steroids were systematically studied and compared with those of chloropropyl bonded silica and ODS. The effect of mobile phase variables, such as methanol content, pH value of buffer, ionic strength and buffer composition on chromatographic behaviors was investigated. The results showed that the retention mechanisms of the four stationary phases for steroids were obviously different, and excellent separation was achieved on β-cyclodextrin bonded silica stationary phase (β-CD-BS), as a consequence of the structure and the properties of the stationary phase. The retention process on β-CD-BS exhibited inclusion complexation, hydrogen-bonding and weak hydrophobic interaction, while for p-tert-butyl-calix[8]arene bonded silica stationary phase (CBS), π-π and hydrogen-bonding besides hydrophobic interaction played an important role.     

Application of hydrophobic silica based aerogels and xerogels for removal of toxic organic compounds from aqueous solutions

This work is devoted to the application of hydrophobic silica based aerogels and xerogels for the removal of three toxic organic compounds from aqueous solutions. These materials were tested and characterized regarding their morphology, particle size distribution, surface area and porous structure. The equilibrium tests were carried out at different adsorbate concentrations and the experimental data were correlated by means of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The equilibrium data were well described by Langmuir and Freundlich in most cases. The maximum adsorption capacity by Langmuir model was observed for the adsorption of benzene onto aerogel (192.31 mg/g), though the most promising results were obtained for toluene adsorption due to the greater adsorption energy involved. Comparing these results with other reported results, the hydrophobic silica based aerogels/xerogels were found to exhibit a remarkable performance for the removal of benzene and toluene. In addition, the regeneration of previously saturated aerogel/toluene was also investigated by using an ozonation process. The adsorption/regeneration tests with ozone oxidation showed that the aerogel might be regenerated, nevertheless the materials lost their hydrophobicity and thus different methods should be evaluated in forthcoming investigations.     

Highly selective and sensitive near-infrared fluorescent sensors for cadmium in aqueous solution

On the basis of tricabocyanine, two near-infrared fluorescent sensors CYP-1 and CYP-2 have been designed and synthesized. Both of them can selectively and sensitively recognize Cd(2+) from other metal ions, especially the CYP-2, which can distinguish Cd(2+) in neutral buffer solution.     

An ion-association system for the selective extraction of mugram amounts of silver from aqueous solution

Silver can be extracted from aqueous solution into hexone as the ion-association system formed between its di-n-butylamine complex and stearic acid or salicylic acid. In the presence of an auxiliary complexing agent, anthranilic acid diacetic acid, the latter system is highly selective since only mercury(II) interferes. The procedure is sensitive and extracts silver over the range 5 mg–5μg (0.05 p.p.m.). No compatible common anion interferes. The extraction is 96–98% complete in one pass.     

Chemistry of aqueous silica nanoparticle surfaces and the mechanism of selective peptide adsorption

Control over selective recognition of biomolecules on inorganic nanoparticles is a major challenge for the synthesis of new catalysts, functional carriers for therapeutics, and assembly of renewable biobased materials. We found low sequence similarity among sequences of peptides strongly attracted to amorphous silica nanoparticles of various size (15-450 nm) using combinatorial phage display methods. Characterization of the surface by acid base titrations and zeta potential measurements revealed that the acidity of the silica particles increased with larger particle size, corresponding to between 5% and 20% ionization of silanol groups at pH 7. The wide range of surface ionization results in the attraction of increasingly basic peptides to increasingly acidic nanoparticles, along with major changes in the aqueous interfacial layer as seen in molecular dynamics simulation. We identified the mechanism of peptide adsorption using binding assays, zeta potential measurements, IR spectra, and molecular simulations of the purified peptides (without phage) in contact with uniformly sized silica particles. Positively charged peptides are strongly attracted to anionic silica surfaces by ion pairing of protonated N-termini, Lys side chains, and Arg side chains with negatively charged siloxide groups. Further, attraction of the peptides to the surface involves hydrogen bonds between polar groups in the peptide with silanol and siloxide groups on the silica surface, as well as ion-dipole, dipole-dipole, and van-der-Waals interactions. Electrostatic attraction between peptides and particle surfaces is supported by neutralization of zeta potentials, an inverse correlation between the required peptide concentration for measurable adsorption and the peptide pI, and proximity of cationic groups to the surface in the computation. The importance of hydrogen bonds and polar interactions is supported by adsorption of noncationic peptides containing Ser, His, and Asp residues, including the formation of multilayers. We also demonstrate tuning of interfacial interactions using mutant peptides with an excellent correlation between adsorption measurements, zeta potentials, computed adsorption energies, and the proposed binding mechanism. Follow-on questions about the relation between peptide adsorption on silica nanoparticles and mineralization of silica from peptide-stabilized precursors are raised.     

Ionic liquid-salt based aqueous biphasic system for separation of 109Cd from silver target

Aqueous biphasic system (ABS) is greener alternative to the conventional liquid liquid extraction as ABS does not involve any organic or volatile reagents. Generally ABS systems are composed of polymer and salt rich phases. In this paper a new ABS system is proposed replacing polymer rich phase by water soluble room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium Chloride ([bmim]Cl) and kosmotropic salt K₂HPO₄. The system has been applied to separate the no-carrier-added (NCA) ¹⁰⁹Cd (T _1/2 = 462.6 days) from the α-particle irradiated bulk Ag target. The optimum separation condition was achieved with the addition of 6 M HNO₃ to the ABS, where ~87 % of the bulk Ag was extracted in the IL phase, leaving ~96 % NCA ¹⁰⁹Cd in the salt rich phase. The salt rich phase was re-extracted twice with the RTIL to free from bulk Ag. This process achieved an overall separation of 91 % NCA ¹⁰⁹Cd free from bulk Ag. The developed method demonstrates minimum requirement of RTIL to carry out the separation. The method is environmentally benign and cost effective.     

Separation of lead from high matrix electroless nickel plating waste solution using an ion-selective immobilized macrocycle system

Separation of trace levels of lead from concentrated-matrix electroless nickel plating (ENP) waste solutions is required to meet the increasingly stringent environmental regulations. A solid phase extraction (SPE) system using a molecular recognition technology (MRT) gel was used for the selective separation of trace levels of lead (Pb) from the waste discharge of ENP operations, followed by subsequent analysis with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Two SPE-MRTs, AnaLig® Pb-01 and AnaLig® Pb-02, packed in 3 mL polypropylene cartridges were used to treat the synthetic metal-waste solutions that were used to simulate the typical metal mixture in ENP bath waste. The fortified solutions contained 100-1000 μg L^− 1 of Pb in an HNO₃ matrix with pre-added Ni, Cu and other interfering elements (1000 mg L^− 1). After the sample treatment, the SPE-MRT cartridges were washed with water and 0.1 M nitric acid, followed by elution with 0.03 M EDTA. The matrix elements (e.g., Ni, Cu) were completely removed at the washing step, while the ‘captured’ Pb was quantitatively eluted, as determined by ICP-OES measurements. The detection limit of the proposed method was 2.6 μg L^− 1. ‘Real’ samples from commercial ENP operations were used to assess the validity of this method, and almost quantitative Pb recovery was observed. The excellent Pb selectivity of the SPE-MRT system indicates the potential of the proposed technique for trace-level Pb separation from the Pb-containing high matrix aqueous waste discharge.     

A microbatch anion-exchange technique for matrix separation

Summary A rapid and simple one-vessel microbatch anionexchange method has been developed for matrix separation prior to the AAS determination of the trace elements. The method can be applied to the separation of matrix elements which are strongly sorbed on anion exchangers, e.g. gold, palladium, bismuth a.o. The method was illustrated by the flame or ET-AAS determination of 20 trace elements in pure gold. The limits of detection were from 0.002 to 0.4 g/g, the RSD from 3 to 8% depending on the trace element.     

The use of amphoteric ion exchange resin for the selective separation of cadmium from other radioelements present in neutron irradiated biological materials

A new method for the selective radiochemical separation of cadmium from other elements, present in biological materials, using amphoteric ion exchange resin Retardion 11A8 has been elaborated. Cadmium can be taken up by the resin either as anionic chloride complexes or cationic ammine complexes, depending on the composition of the eluent, exploiting both cation and anion exchange functions of the ion exchanger. The conditions in which Cd is quantitatively retained and eluted from Retardion 11A8 were established. The method of selective isolation of cadmium was further used for the determination of Cd in three biological certified reference materials by neutron activation analysis. Analytical results obtained with the use of the proposed separation procedure show good agreement with the certified values.     

Highly ordered molecularly imprinted mesoporous silica for selective removal of bisphenol A from wastewater

Selective removal of bisphenol A from wastewater is quite challenging primarily because of its low concentration and matrix complexity. To this end, according to the molecular structure of bisphenol A, we designed a functional monomer for the preparation of molecularly imprinted mesoporous silica using click chemistry reaction. The resultant bisphenol A imprinted mesoporous silica was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, small angle X‐ray diffraction, and N₂ adsorption–desorption experiments. The results indicated that the bisphenol A imprinted mesoporous silica possessed a highly ordered periodic hexagonal mesostructure with the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 944.28 m²/g. The bisphenol A imprinted mesoporous silica showed fast adsorption kinetics and the saturated adsorption capacity reached up to 88.6 mg/g at pH 6.5, and with relative selectivity factors ranged from 1.06 to 3.20. The adsorption efficiency of the bisphenol A imprinted mesoporous silica was above 97.96% after five extraction/elution cycles. The bisphenol A imprinted mesoporous silica was further applied to the selective removal of bisphenol A from real wastewater samples and showed great promise in practical applications.     

A self-assembled supramolecular organic material for selective extraction of uranium from aqueous solution

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A supramolecular organic material MA-IPA containing melamine and isophthalic acid was prepared by low-temperature hydrothermal reaction, with an...     

An ion-imprinted silica-supported organic-inorganic hybrid sorbent prepared by a surface imprinting technique combined with a polysaccharide incorporated sol-gel process for selective separation of cadmium(II) from aqueous solution

Ion-imprinting concept and polysaccharide incorporated sol-gel process were applied to the preparation of a new silica-supported organic-inorganic hybrid sorbent for selective separation of Cd(II) from aqueous solution. In the prepared shell/core composite sorbent, covalently surface coating on the supporting silica gel was achieved by using a Cd(II)-imprinting sol-gel process starting from an inorganic precursor, γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysiloxane (GPTMS), and a functional biopolymer, chitosan (CS). The sorbent was prepared through self-hydrolysis of GPTMS, self-condensation and co-condensation of silanol groups (Si-OH) from siloxane and silica gel surface, in combination with in situ covalent cross-linking of CS with partial amine shielded by Cd(II) complexation. Extraction of the imprinting molecules left a predetermined arrangement of ligands and tailored binding pockets for Cd(II). The prepared sorbent was characterized by using X-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Batch experiments were conducted to study the sorption performance by removal of Cd(II) when present singly or in binary system, an aqueous Cd(II) and Zn(II) mixture. The ion-imprinted composite sorbent offered a fast kinetics for the sorption of Cd(II) and the maximum capacity was 1.14 mmol g⁻¹. The uptake capacity of the imprinted sorbent and the selectivity coefficient were much higher than that of the non-imprinted sorbent. The imprinted sorbent exhibited high reusability. The prepared functional sorbent was shown to be promising for the preconcentration of cadmium in environmental and biological samples.