Cyclodextrin-based polymers (CDPs) are adsorbents based on supramolecular receptor chemistry and have emerged as a promising technology for organic micropollutant remediation. Micropollutants are small organic molecules which contaminate water systems from human related activities. The occurrence of micropollutants in water sources is associated with many negative health, economic, and ecological effects. As the world’s fresh drinking water sources become depleted, we will become more reliant on reclaiming wastewater for drinking water. Reclaiming wastewater will require water treatment plants to implement treatment solutions which can handle increasing concentrations and diversity of organic micropollutants. Therefore, the discovery and greater understanding of novel adsorbents for remediation of micropollutants is necessary for the modern world. In this dissertation, I will discuss the history of CDP adsorbents in the Dichtel group. Chapter 1 will discuss a broad overview of the CDP work that has taken place in our lab over the past five years. This chapter will start with the discovery of tetrafluoroterephtalonitrile linked CDPs and their utility in micropollutant removal. Next, this chapter will discuss leveraging the crosslinking chemistry of CDP adsorbents for targeting micropollutants known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Finally, Chapter 1 will end with a look into the future of our work in the novel adsorbent field both in the morphological control of CDPs and the discovery of a new molecular receptor adsorbent based on resorcinarene cavitands. Chapter 2 focuses on how optimization of tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile based CDPs lead to a greater understanding of the underlying chemistry. Chapter 3 is about leveraging this greater understanding to target specific negatively charged micropollutants including PFAS. Finally, Chapter 4 discusses the ground up redesigning of a CDP system based on a discrete polymerizable cyclodextrin monomer. This new system allowed us to mechanistic information related to PFAS adsorption on CDPs.

Creator

• Klemes, Max Justin

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-3eb2-r449

Subject

• Organic chemistry
• Polymer chemistry
• Chemistry

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:15146
• etdadmin_upload_744718

Keyword

• micropollutants
• Purification
• polyfluoroalkyl
• Water
• porous
• Cyclodextrin

Date created

• 2020-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright