2021 journal article

Functional Gels Containing Hydroxamic Acid Degrade Organophosphates in Aqueous Solutions

INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH, 60(24), 8799–8811.

By: S. Zboray n, K. Efimenko n , J. Jones n & J. Genzer n 

co-author countries: United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
Source: Web Of Science
Added: July 19, 2021

We synthesized poly(maleic anhydride-co-methyl vinyl ether) (PMAMVE) gels and functionalized them to form hydroxamic acid functional groups. We evaluated the performance of the gels in decomposing dimethyl nitrophenyl phosphate (DMNP). We monitored organophosphate degradation kinetics as a function of gel chemical composition, cross-linking density, and solution pH and applied Thiele modulus analysis to determine the importance of transport phenomena related to the particulate gel size. The decomposition of DMNP in the maleic anhydride gels followed pseudo-first-order kinetics for all studied conditions. The performance was influenced by the spatial confinement of the hydroxamic acid groups inside the gel. The gels made of PMAMVE copolymers modified with hydroxamic acid offer a robust new system with high degradation efficiency, scalability, and preparation simplicity.