Functional Polymers for Remediation of Environmental Pollution
Guest Speaker： Prof. Andrew K. Whittaker，The University of Queensland, Australian
Inviter: Prof. Shenmin Zhu
Date&Time: Tuesday，29.Oct., 14:30-16:00
Venue: Meeting Room 308 , Xu Zuyao Building
Biography:
Prof Andrew Whittaker is Australian Professorial Fellow and Senior Group Leader within the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, at The University of Queensland. Whittaker is a polymeric physical chemist with underpinning expertise in NMR and MRI of materials. His work focusses on understanding science at the interface, whether that be the interface between materials and biological entities, or the interface between synthetic materials. The two main application areas driving his research are 1) polymers for nanomedicine and 2) polymers for manufacture of integrated circuits. In the field of nanomedicine Whittaker has made advances to our understanding of materials for drug delivery and in the design of MRI agents, in particular partly-fluorinated molecules for imaging. His work in the field of lithography includes photoresists for 193 immersion and EUV lithography, and block copolymer-self-assembly. He has contributed advances to every major lithographic node over the past 20 year. He holds a number of patents in these areas and his research discoveries have been licensed to major corporations.
Abstract:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemical compounds widely used over the past 50 years in many commercial and industrial settings. PFAS are highly stable and can accumulate and persist in the environment for decades. Much recent attention has been given to the potential harmful effects to humans arising from prolonged exposure to PFAS, and compelling evidence has been presented relating PFAS exposure to several diseases. Thus, effective removal of PFAS from the environment has become a major focus of a number research groups. However, all approaches investigated to date have limited efficacy for sorption of PFAS.
In this report we describe the design of partly-fluorinated and cationic block copolymers for removal of a range of PFAS molecules. Our materials out-perform other reported technologies for removal of a wide range of PFAS. The majority of PFAS carry negative charges under normal environmental conditions, and hence it is proposed that combining fluorinated PFPE segments and cationic quaternized DMAEA will enhance uptake of PFAS by the block polymer. In this presentation I will describe studies examining the effect of polymer structure on PFAS sorption by two generations of the block copolymer, and the relative importance of the fluorinated and charged species. It was also found that the PFAS could be released/desorbed and the block copolymer recovered by exposure to alcoholic salt solution.
The presentation will also describe several methods of incorporating the fluorinated block copolymers into devices for practical application to cleaning polluted water streams. In particular I will describe the development of functionalised magnetic iron oxide particles. These particles are highly effective at absorbing a broad range of PFAS of varying fluorinate chain lengths. Finally I will illustrate how our polymers can potentially be used to treat patients with high levels of PFAS with their blood stream.