Thermoresponsive polymer brush photocatalytic substrates for wastewater remediation

Abstract

NIPAAm and fluorescein o-acrylate are copolymerized on glass beads to develop multiresponsive heterogeneous photocatalysts that exhibit structural changes at elevated temperatures and alter their photocatalytic performance in wastewater remediation.

Effects of Surface‐Immobilization on Photobleaching of Xanthene Dye Photocatalysts

“…Fluorescein has been shown useful to catalyze, for example, cyclic condensation reactions, [ 24 ] photoinduced electron transfer reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (PET‐RAFT), [ 21 ] and degradation of pollutants, such as the antibiotic tetracycline. [ 25 ] Eosin Y can catalyze PET‐RAFT polymerizations, [ 26 ] atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), [ 27 ] and other reactions such as the oxidative cleavage of styrene. [ 28 ] Rose Bengal has been shown to catalyze, for example, dehydrogenative and cycloaddition reactions.…”

“…To synthesize the materials, 4-cyano-4-([dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl]sulfanyl)pentanoic acid (CDTPA) was selected as the RAFT chain transfer agent (CTA), and was grafted to the surface of the glass beads (see Figure S4, Supporting Information) following our previously published procedure. [21,22,25] Polymer brushes were then grown via surfaceinitiated reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (SI-RAFT) polymerization (see Supporting Information).…”

Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Light‐Mediated Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization

“…[310] On micron-scale glass beads, stimuli responsiveness to heat has also been shown with NIPAAM comonomers used with fluorescein-based photocatalytic polymer brushes to enhance photocatalytic activity upon heating. [311] In addition, polymer brush composition can be tailored to enhance the longevity of surface attachment of grafted molecules.…”

Surface-Initiated PET-RAFT via the Z-Group Approach

“…Modifying the surfaces of materials with polymers is significant to many fields, from microelectronics to biotechnology to nanocomposites . To address the limitations of physiosorbed coatings (such as weak adhesion, sensitivity to environmental conditions, and limited long-term stability), covalently surface-tethered polymer brushes provide a robust alternative. − Polymer brushes have shown promise for applications in various fields, including, but not limited to, stimuli-responsive surfaces, − drug delivery, antifouling surfaces, − electronic materials, − catalysis, − and biosensing. − …”