Unit of Nanoscience and Thematic Unit of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 May 21;110(21):8459-64. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1220222110. Epub 2013 May 6.
Creation of affordable materials for constant release of silver ions in water is one of the most promising ways to provide microbially safe drinking water for all. Combining the capacity of diverse nanocomposites to scavenge toxic species such as arsenic, lead, and other contaminants along with the above capability can result in affordable, all-inclusive drinking water purifiers that can function without electricity. The critical problem in achieving this is the synthesis of stable materials that can release silver ions continuously in the presence of complex species usually present in drinking water that deposit and cause scaling on nanomaterial surfaces. Here we show that such constant release materials can be synthesized in a simple and effective fashion in water itself without the use of electrical power. The nanocomposite exhibits river sand-like properties, such as higher shear strength in loose and wet forms. These materials have been used to develop an affordable water purifier to deliver clean drinking water at US $2.5/y per family. The ability to prepare nanostructured compositions at near ambient temperature has wide relevance for adsorption-based water purification.
开发价格低廉且能持续向水中释放银离子的材料，是为所有人提供安全微生物饮用水的最有前景的方法之一。将各种纳米复合材料清除砷、铅和其他污染物等有毒物质的能力与上述能力结合起来，可以制造出价格低廉、功能齐全、无需电力的饮用水净化器。实现这一目标的关键问题是合成稳定的材料，这些材料能够在饮用水中通常存在的复杂物质存在的情况下持续释放银离子，这些物质会在纳米材料表面沉积并导致结垢。在这里，我们展示了在没有使用电力的情况下，仅用水就可以简单有效地合成这种持续释放材料。该纳米复合材料具有类似于河砂的特性，例如在松散和潮湿的形式下具有更高的抗剪强度。这些材料已被用于开发一种价格合理的水净化器，以每家庭 2.5 美元/年的价格提供清洁饮用水。在接近环境温度下制备纳米结构组合物的能力在基于吸附的水净化方面具有广泛的相关性。
