Hierarchical Bamboo/Silver Nanoparticle Composites for Sustainable Water Purification

Abstract

Water reclamation is the most effective way to continuously provide clean water to combat catastrophic global water scarcity. However, current technology for water purification is not conducive to sustainability due to the high energy consumption and negative environmental impact. Here, we introduce an innovative method by utilizing the hierarchical microstructure of bamboo for water purification. Natural bamboo was delignified followed by freezedrying to obtain a bamboo aerogel with a porosity of 72.0%; then, the bamboo aerogel was coated with silver nanoparticles to form a hierarchical bamboo/silver nanoparticle composite. The scanning electron microscopy images and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results indicated that the silver nanoparticles were uniformly attached to the parenchyma cell surface. By physical adsorption and catalytic reduction, the bamboo/silver nanoparticle composite was able to degrade methylene blue by more than 96.7%, which is mainly attributed to the large specific surface area of the bamboo providing more space for the purification reaction. This composite can be potentially used for board applications with its high porosity, mechanical reliability, and sustainability.

Monolithic Catalysts Supported by Emulsion-Templated Porous Polydivinylbenzene for Continuous Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol

“…47 The isotherm for PH 20 exhibited a relatively weak retention and weak hysteresis loops at low relative pressures, while the isotherms for PH 40 and PH 60 showed significantly enhanced retentions, indicating well-developed micro/mesoporous structures. 48 The specific surface area was calculated through a Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) method, showing results of 172, 341, and 373 m 2 /g for PH 20 , PH 40 , and PH 60 , respectively. Compared with metal foam-based catalysts, 49 the monolithic catalysts exhibited a much higher specific surface area due to the intrinsic micropores of PDVB carriers.…”

“…6,23 Polymeric porous carriers, especially microporous organic polymers, exhibit advantages in the design of porous structures and the anchor of active components. 18,24 Polymeric porous carriers have been fabricated with a porogen, 14,15 self-assembly process, 16,17,25 hypercross-linked polymer, 18,19 biomass material, 20 etc. To achieve the catalytic application with these porous polymers, macropores are needed for a suitable flux of the feed liquid.…”

“…For a monolithic catalyst, the two main challenges are controlling of porous structures and loading of active components. A series of porous materials, including metal foams, − carbon materials, − ceramic foams, , porous polymers, − etc., have been successfully employed as support materials. Conventionally, active components were loaded onto porous carriers through solution impregnation, sol–gel process, or covering .…”

Bioinspired Multifunctional Silver Nanoparticles for Optical Sensing Applications: A Sustainable Approach

“…(a) Inactivation of bacteria in water by Ag NPs (reproduced with permission from ref ). (b) Hierarchical bamboo/silver nanoparticle composite for water purification process (reproduced with permission from ref ). (c) SEM images of E. coli on the AgNP-coated air filter and (d) S. epidermidis on the AgNP-coated air filter (reproduced with permission from ref , distributed under attribution CC BY-NC 3.0).…”

“…A novel method of using microstructures of bamboo aerogel with coated silver particles was used for water purification. The large surface area of bamboo (Figure b) and the plasmonic nature of the silver ion make this technique a sustainable process for water sanitization . The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles obtained with the help of fungi, namely, Penicillium Citreonigum Dierck and Scopulaniopsos brumptii Salvanet-Duval extracted from Lake Burullus, were found to be good adsorbent for pathogenic bacteria in polluted water .…”