Unleash the Power of Interfacial Chemistry for Pollutant Detection and Remediation

One of the grand challenges for Environmental Engineers in the 21st century is designing a future without pollution and waste. In this talk, I will discuss my group’s efforts in interfacial chemistry to develop reactive adsorbents and sensors for environmental remediation and pollutant monitoring. First, I will discuss the critical role of pyrogenic carbonaceous matter (PCM; e.g., biochar and activated carbon) in promoting a broad range of chemical and microbial synergies, from affecting redox-active elements' global biogeochemical processes to influencing environmental remediation and water treatment. However, due to PCM's inherent chemical heterogeneity, it is difficult to identify what critical properties contribute to its reactivity. We have developed a tunable PCM-like polymer (PLP) network through controlled polymer synthesis. This allows us to delineate the contribution of individual properties (e.g., functional groups, porosity) to PCM's reactivity, particularly in accelerating the surface-enhanced hydrolysis of nitroaromatics. Understanding these critical properties is crucial for designing reactive adsorbents that can concentrate and destroy contaminants, reducing material replacement costs. In the second part, I will discuss our progress in developing a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) that is both conductive and redox-active for electrochemical detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. We created three MIPs via an electropolymerization approach. Our MIPs showed high selectivity, stability, reusability, and low detection limit (below pg L-1), providing an innovative sensor platform for rapid PFAS detection and laying the groundwork for monitoring other pollutants.

Speaker: Wenqing Xu, Villanova University