(464a) Advancing Separation Processes and Water Purification Techniques Using Carbon Nanomaterial-Based Aerogels

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have longed been used in semiconducting and electronic applications aligned with large-scale materials (e.g. batteries and vehicles). Their use has prompted investigation into other fields where their structure and properties could be beneficial. One field is environmental remediation. Due to the overuse of biological and chemical agents, and their subsequent dumping into various water environments, there is now a significant concern on the health of accessible water supplies around the globe. Given the tunable properties of carbon nanotubes, ideas have been investigated to use this particular nanomaterial to sense and remove potentially harmful agents from water supplies. Results have shown significant promise in the use of carbon nanotubes towards removing these harmful substances. In this work, a forward-looking approach has been to develop 3-D carbon nanotube-based aerogels that can detect and rapidly remove organic and metal ion substances that pose very high threats to current water environments. Using single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnP), aerogel systems have been developed using a simple and fast approach with good integration of the CNT/GnP in a manner that promotes effective adsorption of targeted compounds. Carbon nanomaterials that were integrated into 2-D hybrid papers have previously shown the ability to adsorb metal ions, such as copper (II), and polyaromatics. The use of single-wall carbon nanotube-graphene nanoplatelet (SWCNT – GnP) aerogels with 3-D architecture have shown the increased adsorption of polyaromatic compounds. Herein we demonstrate their increased ability to adsorb copper (II), lead (II), and zinc (II) ions. Compared to SWCNT – GnP hybrid papers and activated carbon (AC), carbon nanomaterial-based (CNM) aerogels have an adsorption capacity, q, of up to 5-fold, 7-fold, and 48-fold larger for copper, lead, and zinc, respectively. Such results present opportunities for more refined approaches for developing sophisticated CNT filters for environmental purposes.