Work

Innovative polypropylene-based adsorbent functionalized by oxygen plasma and L-Arginine for efficient removal of emerging contaminants from aqueous media

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The existence of organic pollutants such as dyes and antibiotics in water poses serious health risks. The use of oxygen plasma to functionalize and apply oxygen containing functional groups onto surfaces can convert them to precious and useful adsorbents. In this work, functionalization of the inner layer of the disposable masks was performed via oxygen plasma treatment and the prepared catalyst applied for the removal of methylene blue and metronidazole from aqueous systems. Oxygen plasma treated masks (PTM) were identified via the contact angle measurement and the best sample was further functionalized with aminopropyl trimethoxysilane linked to L-Arginine. The synthesized PTM-APTMS-L-arginine composite was fully analyzed by various characterization techniques including XRD, BET, TGA, and FeSEM. The FTIR and EDS analysis showed that L-arginine is well distributed in a Polypropylene matrix. Moreover, the adsorption model was in good agreement with the Langmuir model with an adsorption capacity of 254 mg/g and 1006 mg/g for MNZ and MB respectively. Kinetics data were described well by pseudo-second-order for both pollutants. The results introduced the synthesized composite as a promising candidate for the water treatment process.

Source: Polymer Testing

DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108842

Authors: Mojtaba Azizi, Mahdi Akhgari, Maryam Esmkhani, Hossein Ghafuri, Shahrzad Javanshir

Institutions: Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Iran University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,370