(380ac) Crosslinkable Poly(arylene ether sulphone) Polymers for Nitrate Remediation

Nitrates are essential nutrients required for living organisms which are highly mobile in nature and easily released in the soil and water through bacterial activities. Agricultural run-off from regularly used fertilizer, urea, accounts for approximately 50% of nitrogen lost to the surroundings and is considered a common source of nitrate pollutants found in the terrestrial ecosystem. A variety of water treatment techniques have been studied for the removal and remediation of nitrates from wastewater including filtration, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, coagulation, and adsorption. Compared to other nitrate removal processes, adsorption has become a valuable option due its high efficiency, accessibility, and user-friendliness. Polymeric materials are considered viable alternatives to traditional adsorbents. Poly(arylene ether)s (PAEs) are a class of high-performance thermoplastic widely utilized due to its excellent chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties. PAEs utilized in remediation of dyes, heavy metals, nitrates, and phosphates typically contain adjustable side chains comprised of functional groups such as carboxylic acids, amines, hydroxyl groups, or sulfonic acids. This research aims to synthesize and characterize PAES homopolymers directly from PPLn monomers using a one-step process that avoids post-reactions to open the lactone ring. To enhance PPL2n-PAES thermal and mechanical properties, crosslinked membranes will then be prepared through thermal cure via Friedel Crafts acylation at the -COOH sites along the polymer backbone.