Materiali polimerici innovativi per l'assorbimento quantitativo e reversibile di contaminanti delle acque inorganici ed organici

Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems the world faces today. Great attention is currently given to specific pollutants, both of natural and anthropic origins, often labelled as organic and inorganic micropollutants. Those compounds, even in very low concentration in water and wastewater, can have severe implications both on the ecological and human health, being potentially toxic and carcinogenic, and are included in the EU PP (Priority Pollutants) list. Inorganic micro-pollutants include many heavy metal ions, such as for instance Pb2+, Cd2+ and Hg2+. Organic micro-pollutants include a huge range of organohalides, aromatic hydrocarbons and other chemicals. All these contaminants have to be thoroughly removed to prevent health problems to living organisms. In this contest, it may be observed that the current

treatments are often endowed with different drawbacks and limitations. The main limitation is the lack of

specificity, sensitivity, regenerability and the cost of the process.

In this project, quantitative and reversible absorbing materials of water pollutants will be developed based on innovative multifunctional cross-linked resins of polyamidoamine structure, whose repeating units can stably complex numerous heavy metal ions, such as Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Hg2+and Pb2+. They can be obtained from inexpensive monomers and simple and easily scaleable synthetic process, being carried out at room temperature and using water as reaction medium. The complex stability strongly depends on the solution pH, are easily reverted at low pH’s. In addition, cyclodextrins, cyclic oligosaccharides carrying a hydrophobic cavity with inclusion ability towards organic compounds will be inserted in the structure of the poliammidoammine resin to absorb organic pollutants, in particular chlorinated ones. Reversability is ensured by washing with metahnol.