Synthesis of Emulsion-Templated Magnetic Porous Hydrogel Beads and Their Application for Catalyst of Fenton Reaction

Abstract

The pristine FeO nanoparticle (FeNP) is supposed to be a good catalyst of Fenton processes which have shown significant potential for water purification. Herein the magnetic macroporous hydrogel beads, having an open-cell structure, were synthesized by sedimentation polymerization of pristine FeNP stabilized oil-in-water high internal phase emulsions. The effects of the FeNP amount, internal phase fraction, and the costabilizer Tween85 concentration on the structure, such as interconnecting degree, void size, and its distribution of both the surface and inner of the beads, were investigated. With a methyl orange (MO) aqueous solution passing through a chromatography column that was filled with the FeNPs loaded hydrogel beads, the efficiency of these hydrogel beads as catalyst for Fenton reaction to decompose MO in water was tested. The MO was decomposed quickly at the first hour, followed by decomposed gradually in a further 5 h, and the decomposition rate of MO could be up to 99.6% at the end of the test. Moreover, MO decomposition rate remained over 98.2% in six batches which were run in the same beads filled column. The results showed that these FeNPs loaded porous hydrogel beads were reusable and highly efficient supporter for catalysis of Fenton reaction for decomposing organic pollutants in water.

Preparation of emulsion‐templated fluorinated polymers and their application in oil/water separation

“…Emulsion‐templated porous materials have been shown to be useful for a wide range of applications . Especially on water/oil separation due to their tunable hydrophobic–oleophilic or hydrophilic–oleophobic properties .…”

“…INTRODUCTION Emulsion-templated porous materials have been shown to be useful for a wide range of applications. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Especially on water/oil separation due to their tunable hydrophobic-oleophilic or hydrophilic-oleophobic properties. [8][9][10] In this method, high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs), having an internal phase volume fraction of more than 74%, were normally used as templates to prepare porous polymer materials (so called polyHIPEs).…”

Hydrophobic polyurethane polyHIPEs templated from mannitol within nonaqueous high internal phase emulsions for oil spill recovery

“…PolyHIPEs (PHs) are macroporous polymers synthesized within the continuous phase of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs), emulsions consisting of over 74% dispersed phase by volume. PHs have drawn considerable attention, due to their potential applications in controlled release, encapsulation, catalyst support, absorption, adsorption, tissue engineering, and water‐efficiency enhancer in fighting fires . For these applications, amphiphilicity is an integral component.…”

Pickering emulsion-templated polymers: insights into the relationship between surfactant and interconnecting pores

“…Macroporous polymers have extensive applications in many elds, such as tissue engineering scaffolds, [1][2][3][4] controlled release, [5][6][7][8][9] ion adsorption, 10-13 separation 14,15 and supports for catalysis. [16][17][18][19][20] These applications normally require porous polymers with an open-cell structure. One of the effective methods to synthesize macroporous polymers is the use high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templates whose dispersed phase exceeds 74 vol%.…”

“…50 We also reported a series of open-cell porous polymers based on Pickering HIPEs by adding a small amount ($1.0%) of surfactant to the emulsion before curing. 17,[53][54][55] The mechanism of formation of the closed-cell structure suggested that a thicker particle layer around the droplets formed very stable emulsion lms which do not easily rupture during or aer polymerization, so the closed-cell pore structure exhibits poly-Pickering-HIPEs. 56,57 Furthermore, the formation of interconnected pores in the poly-Pickering-HIPEs following addition of a small amount of surfactant was assumed to proceed as follows.…”