Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
Chem Soc Rev. 2016 Jul 25;45(15):4226-51. doi: 10.1039/c6cs00124f.
This review explores supramolecular gels as materials for environmental remediation. These soft materials are formed by self-assembling low-molecular-weight building blocks, which can be programmed with molecular-scale information by simple organic synthesis. The resulting gels often have nanoscale 'solid-like' networks which are sample-spanning within a 'liquid-like' solvent phase. There is intimate contact between the solvent and the gel nanostructure, which has a very high effective surface area as a result of its dimensions. As such, these materials have the ability to bring a solid-like phase into contact with liquids in an environmental setting. Such materials can therefore remediate unwanted pollutants from the environment including: immobilisation of oil spills, removal of dyes, extraction of heavy metals or toxic anions, and the detection or removal of chemical weapons. Controlling the interactions between the gel nanofibres and pollutants can lead to selective uptake and extraction. Furthermore, if suitably designed, such materials can be recyclable and environmentally benign, while the responsive and tunable nature of the self-assembled network offers significant advantages over other materials solutions to problems caused by pollution in an environmental setting.
本文综述了超分子凝胶作为环境修复材料的研究进展。这些软物质是由低分子量的构筑单元自组装形成的,通过简单的有机合成可以在分子尺度上对其进行信息编程。所得凝胶通常具有纳米级的“固态”网络,在“液态”溶剂相中贯穿整个样品。溶剂与凝胶纳米结构之间存在着紧密的接触,这使得凝胶纳米结构具有非常高的有效表面积,这是由于其尺寸所致。因此,这些材料能够将固态相与环境中的液体接触。这些材料因此可以修复环境中的有害物质,包括:油污的固定、染料的去除、重金属或有毒阴离子的提取,以及化学武器的检测或去除。控制凝胶纳米纤维与污染物之间的相互作用可以实现选择性的吸收和提取。此外,如果设计得当,这些材料可以是可回收的,对环境是良性的,而自组装网络的响应性和可调谐性为解决环境中污染问题提供了其他材料解决方案所不具备的显著优势。