Copper has been identified as a pollutant of concern by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because of its widespread occurrence and toxic impact in the environment. Three nanoporous sorbents containing chelating diamine functionalities were evaluated for Cu2+ adsorption from natural waters -- ethylenediamine functionalized self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports (EDA-SAMMS®), ethylenediamine functionalized activated carbon (AC-CH2-EDA), and 1,10-Phenanthroline functionalized mesoporous carbon (Phen-FMC). The pH dependence of Cu2+ sorption, Cu2+ sorption capacities, rates, and selectivity of the sorbents were determined and compared with those of commercial sorbents (Chelex-100 ion exchange resin and Darco KB-B activated carbon). All three chelating diamine sorbents showed excellent Cu2+ removal (~95–99%) from river water and sea water over the pH range of 6.0–8.0. EDA-SAMMS and AC-CH2-EDA demonstrated rapid Cu2+ sorption kinetics (minutes) and good sorption capacities (26 and 17 mg Cu/g sorbent, respectively) in sea water, while Phen-FMC had excellent selectivity for Cu2+ over other metal ions (e.g. Ca2+, Fe2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+) and was able to achieve Cu levels below the EPA standards for river and sea waters.

Pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy have been utilized to investigate lithium dynamics within poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based lithium sulfonate ionomers of varying ion content. The ion content is set by the fraction of sulfonated phthalates and the molecular weight of the PEO spacer, both of which can be varied independently. The molecular level dynamics of the ionomers are dominated by either Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann or Arrhenius behavior depending on ion content, spacer length, temperature, and degree of ionic aggregation. In these ionomers the main determinants of the self-diffusion of lithium and the observed conductivities are the ion content and ionic states of the lithium ion, which are profoundly affected by the interactions of the lithium ions with the ether oxygens of the polymer. Since many lithium ions move by segmental polymer motion in the ion pair state, their diffusion is significantly larger than that estimated from conductivity using the Nernst-Einstein equation.

7Li NMR diffusion measurements for single-ion conducting ionomers with strong solvation for lithium reveal that diffusion is considerably faster than expected from ionic conductivity measurements, suggesting that neutral ion pairs dominate lithium transport in this class of materials. Ion aggregation is controlled by the overlap parameter for ion pair polarizability volumes; at ion contents higher than the polarizability volume overlap threshold, ion pairs aggregate strongly, making the dielectric constant saturate and the glass transition temperature increase more rapidly with ion content. Neutral ion pairs hop from one aggregate to a neighboring one by polymer segmental motion. Only when the ion pair has an extra lithium (i.e., a positive triple ion) do such hops contribute to ionic conductivity.

The chloromethylation of activated carbon is described. Chloromethylation was found to produce a carbon derivative with a surface area of 1310 m2/g and no significant change in the pore structure. The product was found to contain ~1.5 mmole of –CH2Cl groups per g of material, similar to the functional density reported in the original Merrifield resin synthesis. Displacement of the benzylic chloride was achieved by treating this material with an excess of sodium thiosulfate in refluxing aqueous methanol. The resulting Bunte salt was then hydrolyzed by treatment with warm 3 M HCl to afford the corresponding thiol (“AC-CH2-SH”) cleanly and in high yield. AC-CH2-SH was found to be an effective heavy metal sorbent, efficiently capturing Hg, Pb, Ag, and Cu. Sorption kinetics were rapid, with equilibrium achieved in less than 30 minutes.