(credit: City of Boulder)
Clean water is an essential, yet in certain parts of the world, it’s very difficult to obtain. Unfortunately, our limited water resources are being polluted by chemicals from industrial plants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and more.
Adsorbent materials composed of carbon are often used to remove many of these organic-pollutants. However, they act slowly, typically miss hydrophilic micropollutants, and can be difficult to reuse.
Scientists working on developing inexpensive materials that can purify water quickly have even working with an insoluble polymer called β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)—a big loop of linked sugar molecules. Recently, they’ve discovered a way to cross-link β-CD using aromatic groups forming a porous, cross-linked complex. The porous, cross-linked β-CD has an increased surface area that significantly speeds the removal of pollutants.
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