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Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition)
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Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 6494

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shiyang Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Interests: nanofiber materials; functional gels; nonpoint source pollution control; solid phase carbon source denitrification; piezocatalytic materials
Dr. Zhenxing Fang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315300, China
Interests: functional aerogels; inorganic synthetic chemistry; nanomaterial chemistry; cellulose-based functional material; solar energy conversion and storage; photothermal catalysis
Dr. Kaiming Peng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institution of Carbon Neutrality, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: oil–water separation; magnetic nanoparticles; functional gels; sponges; superwetting membrane; carbon dioxide capture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are grateful to all authors, reviewers, and readers for their responses to the first volume of our Special Issue, entitled “Gels for Removal and Adsorption”. You can access these articles for free via the following link: Gels for Removal and Adsorption (1st Edition).

Gels (aerogels, hydrogels, etc.), which are typically constructed in the form of sponges, membranes, films, rods, fibers, etc., hold huge potential in the adsorption and removal of substances because of their abundant and tunable porous structure, lightweight properties, and programmable surface groups, which are beneficial for specifically and efficiently capturing targeted substances.

This Special Issue is focused on the application of gels for adsorption and removal. The targeted substances include, but are not limited to, gaseous, liquid, and solid states. The gaseous matters can be poisonous gases (e.g., SOx, NOx, and CO), greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2, freon, and CH4), etc. The liquid matters include wastewaters containing oils, heavy metal ions, ammonia ion, radioactive materials, dyes, and antibiotics. The targeted solids are represented by a variety of particulates (e.g., haze, dust, and microorganisms). This Special Issue also welcomes research on the adsorption and removal of other special states of matter, such as plasmas, supercritical materials, liquid crystals, and superconductive materials. Therefore, the collected articles should not only focus on the preparation and characterization of gels, but also on their adsorption and removal properties. More importantly, the adsorption and removal mechanisms of gels, especially their structure–activity relationships, should also be highlighted. Additionally, this Special Issue covers gels for the absorption and controlled release of drugs in postoperative repair dressing and wound healing. For these applications, the gels must be constructed responsively or intelligently geared towards certain environmental stimulations, such as pH, light, a magnetic field, an electric field, and temperature for controlled drug release. The publication of original research articles, rapid communications, and reviews in this Special Issue will make important contributions to developing gels for removal and adsorption.

We look forward to the submission of new studies on gel development and applications for adsorption and removal. Submissions of experimental and field studies are both welcome.

Dr. Shiyang Li
Dr. Zhenxing Fang
Dr. Kaiming Peng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aerogels
  • hydrogels
  • membranes
  • films
  • adsorbents
  • removal
  • environmental science
  • novel gels
  • wastewater treatment
  • microplastic adsorption
  • drug adsorption/release
  • environmental catalysis

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2158 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Peptide-Based Magnetogels for Removing Organic Dyes from Water
by Farid Hajareh Haghighi, Roya Binaymotlagh, Paula Stefana Pintilei, Laura Chronopoulou and Cleofe Palocci
Gels 2024, 10(5), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10050287 - 24 Apr 2024
Viewed by 473
Abstract
Water pollution by organic dyes represents a major health and environmental issue. Despite the fact that peptide-based hydrogels are considered to be optimal absorbents for removing such contaminants, hydrogel systems often suffer from a lack of mechanical stability and complex recovery. Recently, we [...] Read more.
Water pollution by organic dyes represents a major health and environmental issue. Despite the fact that peptide-based hydrogels are considered to be optimal absorbents for removing such contaminants, hydrogel systems often suffer from a lack of mechanical stability and complex recovery. Recently, we developed an enzymatic approach for the preparation of a new peptide-based magnetogel containing polyacrylic acid-modified γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3NPs) that showed the promising ability to remove cationic metal ions from aqueous phases. In the present work, we tested the ability of the magnetogel formulation to remove three model organic dyes: methyl orange, methylene blue, and rhodamine 6G. Three different hydrogel-based systems were studied, including: (1) Fmoc-Phe3 hydrogel; (2) γ-Fe2O3NPs dispersed in the peptide-based gel (Fe2O3NPs@gel); and (3) Fe2O3NPs@gel with the application of a magnetic field. The removal efficiencies of such adsorbents were evaluated using two different experimental set-ups, by placing the hydrogel sample inside cuvettes or, alternatively, by placing them inside syringes. The obtained peptide magnetogel formulation could represent a valuable and environmentally friendly alternative to currently employed adsorbents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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14 pages, 15555 KiB  
Article
Silicon-Doped Carbon Dots Crosslinked Carboxymethyl Cellulose Gel: Detection and Adsorption of Fe3+
by Zhengdong Zhao, Yichang Jing, Yuan Shen, Yang Liu, Jiaqi Wang, Mingjian Ma, Jiangbo Pan, Di Wang, Chengyu Wang and Jian Li
Gels 2024, 10(5), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10050285 - 23 Apr 2024
Viewed by 429
Abstract
The excessive emission of iron will pollute the environment and harm human health, so the fluorescence detection and adsorption of Fe3+ are of great significance. In the field of water treatment, cellulose-based gels have attracted wide attention due to their excellent properties [...] Read more.
The excessive emission of iron will pollute the environment and harm human health, so the fluorescence detection and adsorption of Fe3+ are of great significance. In the field of water treatment, cellulose-based gels have attracted wide attention due to their excellent properties and environmental friendliness. If carbon dots are used as a crosslinking agent to form a gel with cellulose, it can not only improve mechanical properties but also show good biocompatibility, reactivity, and fluorescence properties. In this study, silicon-doped carbon dots/carboxymethyl cellulose gel (DCG) was successfully prepared by chemically crosslinking biomass-derived silicon-doped carbon dots with carboxymethyl cellulose. The abundant crosslinking points endow the gel with excellent mechanical properties, with a compressive strength reaching 294 kPa. In the experiment on adsorbing Fe3+, the theoretical adsorption capacity reached 125.30 mg/g. The introduction of silicon-doped carbon dots confers the gel with excellent fluorescence properties and a good selective response to Fe3+. It exhibits a good linear relationship within the concentration range of 0–100 mg/L, with a detection limit of 0.6595 mg/L. DCG appears to be a good application prospect in the adsorption and detection of Fe3+. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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16 pages, 6761 KiB  
Article
Polyhedral Oligomeric Sesquioxane Cross-Linked Chitosan-Based Multi-Effective Aerogel Preparation and Its Water-Driven Recovery Mechanism
by Yang Liu, Mingjian Ma, Yuan Shen, Zhengdong Zhao, Xuefei Wang, Jiaqi Wang, Jiangbo Pan, Di Wang, Chengyu Wang and Jian Li
Gels 2024, 10(4), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040279 - 20 Apr 2024
Viewed by 595
Abstract
The use of environmentally friendly and non-toxic biomass-based interfacial solar water evaporators has been widely reported as a method for water purification in recent years. However, the poor stability of the water transport layer made from biomass materials and its susceptibility to deformation [...] Read more.
The use of environmentally friendly and non-toxic biomass-based interfacial solar water evaporators has been widely reported as a method for water purification in recent years. However, the poor stability of the water transport layer made from biomass materials and its susceptibility to deformation when exposed to harsh environments limit its practical application. To address this issue, water-driven recovery aerogel (PCS) was prepared by cross-linking epoxy-based polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (EP-POSS) epoxy groups with chitosan (CS) amino groups. The results demonstrate that PCS exhibits excellent water-driven recovery performance, regaining its original volume within a very short time (1.9 s) after strong compression (ε > 80%). Moreover, PCS has a water absorption rate of 2.67 mm s−1 and exhibits an excellent water absorption capacity of 22.09 g g−1 even after ten cycles of absorption-removal. Furthermore, a photothermal evaporator (PCH) was prepared by loading the top layer with hydrothermally reacted tannins (HAs) and Zn2+ complexes. The results indicate that PCH achieves an impressive evaporation rate of 1.89 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun illumination. Additionally, due to the antimicrobial properties of Zn2+, PCH shows inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, thereby extending the application of solar water evaporators to include antimicrobial purification in natural waters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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17 pages, 4163 KiB  
Article
Preparation of a Novel Lignocellulose-Based Aerogel by Partially Dissolving Medulla Tetrapanacis via Ionic Liquid
by Long Quan, Xueqian Shi, Jie Zhang, Zhuju Shu and Liang Zhou
Gels 2024, 10(2), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10020138 - 09 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1130
Abstract
A novel lignocellulosic aerogel, MT-LCA, was successfully prepared from MT by undergoing partial dissolution in an ionic liquid, coagulation in water, freezing in liquid nitrogen, and subsequent freeze-drying. The MT-LCA preserves its original honeycomb-like porous structure, and the newly formed micropores contribute to [...] Read more.
A novel lignocellulosic aerogel, MT-LCA, was successfully prepared from MT by undergoing partial dissolution in an ionic liquid, coagulation in water, freezing in liquid nitrogen, and subsequent freeze-drying. The MT-LCA preserves its original honeycomb-like porous structure, and the newly formed micropores contribute to increased porosity and specific surface area. FT-IR analysis reveals that MT, after dissolution and coagulation, experiences no chemical reactions. However, a change in the crystalline structure of cellulose is observed, transitioning from cellulose I to cellulose II. Both MT and MT-LCA demonstrate a quasi-second-order kinetic process during methylene blue adsorption, indicative of chemical adsorption. The Langmuir model proves to be more appropriate for characterizing the methylene blue adsorption process. Both adsorbents exhibit monolayer adsorption, and their effective adsorption sites are uniformly distributed. The higher porosity, nanoscale micropores, and larger pore size in MT-LCA enhance its capillary force, providing efficient directional transport performance. Consequently, the prepared MT-LCA displays exceptional compressive performance and efficient directional transport capabilities, making it well-suited for applications requiring high compressive performance and selective directional transport. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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17 pages, 4228 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Release of Glycyrrhiza Glabra Extract by a Gel-Based Microneedle Patch for Psoriasis Treatment
by Ayeh Khorshidian, Niloufar Sharifi, Fatemeh Choupani Kheirabadi, Farnoushsadat Rezaei, Seyed Alireza Sheikholeslami, Ayda Ariyannejad, Javad Esmaeili, Hojat Basati and Aboulfazl Barati
Gels 2024, 10(2), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10020087 - 23 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1152
Abstract
Microneedle patches are attractive drug delivery systems that give hope for treating skin disorders. In this study, to first fabricate a chitosan-based low-cost microneedle patch (MNP) using a CO2 laser cutter for in vitro purposes was tried and then the delivery and [...] Read more.
Microneedle patches are attractive drug delivery systems that give hope for treating skin disorders. In this study, to first fabricate a chitosan-based low-cost microneedle patch (MNP) using a CO2 laser cutter for in vitro purposes was tried and then the delivery and impact of Glycyrrhiza glabra extract (GgE) on the cell population by this microneedle was evaluated. Microscopic analysis, swelling, penetration, degradation, biocompatibility, and drug delivery were carried out to assess the patch’s performance. DAPI staining and acridine orange (AO) staining were performed to evaluate cell numbers. Based on the results, the MNs were conical and sharp enough (diameter: 400–500 μm, height: 700–900 μm). They showed notable swelling (2 folds) during 5 min and good degradability during 30 min, which can be considered a burst release. The MNP showed no cytotoxicity against fibroblast cell line L929. It also demonstrated good potential for GgE delivery. The results from AO and DAPI staining approved the reduction in the cell population after GgE delivery. To sum up, the fabricated MNP can be a useful recommendation for lab-scale studies. In addition, a GgE-loaded MNP can be a good remedy for skin disorders in which cell proliferation needs to be controlled. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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19 pages, 9552 KiB  
Article
Non-Aqueous Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Organogel Sponges for Controlled Solvent Release: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application in the Cleaning of Artworks
by Francesca Porpora, Luigi Dei, Teresa T. Duncan, Fedora Olivadese, Shae London, Barbara H. Berrie, Richard G. Weiss and Emiliano Carretti
Gels 2023, 9(12), 985; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9120985 - 15 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1058
Abstract
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) organogel sponges were prepared and studied in order to understand the role of pore size in an elastomeric network on the ability to uptake and release organic solvents. PDMS organogel sponges have been produced according to sugar leaching techniques by adding [...] Read more.
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) organogel sponges were prepared and studied in order to understand the role of pore size in an elastomeric network on the ability to uptake and release organic solvents. PDMS organogel sponges have been produced according to sugar leaching techniques by adding two sugar templates of different forms and grain sizes (a sugar cube template and a powdered sugar template), in order to obtain materials differing in porosity, pore size distribution, and solvent absorption and liquid retention capability. These materials were compared to PDMS organogel slabs that do not contain pores. The sponges were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and compared with PDMS slabs that do not contain pores. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provided information about their morphology. X-ray micro-tomography (XMT) allowed us to ascertain how the form of the sugar templating agent influences the porosity of the systems: when templated with sugar cubes, the porosity was 77% and the mean size of the pores was ca. 300 μm; when templated with powdered sugar, the porosity decreased to ca. 10% and the mean pore size was reduced to ca. 75 μm. These materials, porous organic polymers (POPs), can absorb many solvents in different proportions as a function of their polarity. Absorption capacity, as measured by swelling with eight solvents covering a wide range of polarities, was investigated. Rheology data established that solvent absorption did not have an appreciable impact on the gel-like properties of the sponges, suggesting their potential for applications in cultural heritage conservation. Application tests were conducted on the surfaces of two different lab mock-ups that simulate real painted works of art. They demonstrated further that PDMS sponges are a potential innovative support for controlled and selective cleaning of works of art surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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18 pages, 7149 KiB  
Article
Linear Polyethyleneimine-Based and Metal Organic Frameworks (DUT-67) Composite Hydrogels as Efficient Sorbents for the Removal of Methyl Orange, Copper Ions, and Penicillin V
by Luis M. Araque, Roberto Fernández de Luis, Arkaitz Fidalgo-Marijuan, Antonia Infantes-Molina, Enrique Rodríguez-Castellón, Claudio J. Pérez, Guillermo J. Copello and Juan M. Lázaro-Martínez
Gels 2023, 9(11), 909; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9110909 - 16 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1121
Abstract
This research explores the integration of DUT-67 metal organic frameworks into polyethyleneimine-based hydrogels to assemble a composite system with enough mechanical strength, pore structure and chemical affinity to work as a sorbent for water remediation. By varying the solvent-to-modulator ratio in a water-based [...] Read more.
This research explores the integration of DUT-67 metal organic frameworks into polyethyleneimine-based hydrogels to assemble a composite system with enough mechanical strength, pore structure and chemical affinity to work as a sorbent for water remediation. By varying the solvent-to-modulator ratio in a water-based synthesis path, the particle size of DUT-67 was successfully modulated from 1 μm to 200 nm. Once DUT-67 particles were integrated into the polymeric hydrogel, the composite hydrogel exhibited enhanced mechanical properties after the incorporation of the MOF filler. XPS, NMR, TGA, FTIR, and FT Raman studies confirmed the presence and interaction of the DUT-67 particles with the polymeric chains within the hydrogel network. Adsorption studies of methyl orange, copper(II) ions, and penicillin V on the composite hydrogel revealed a rapid adsorption kinetics and monolayer adsorption according to the Langmuir’s model. The composite hydrogel demonstrated higher adsorption capacities, as compared to the pristine hydrogel, showcasing a synergistic effect, with maximum adsorption capacities of 473 ± 21 mg L−1, 86 ± 6 mg L−1, and 127 ± 4 mg L−1, for methyl orange, copper(II) ions, and penicillin V, respectively. This study highlights the potential of MOF-based composite hydrogels as efficient adsorbents for environmental pollutants and pharmaceuticals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gels for Removal and Adsorption (2nd Edition))
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