A cerium oxide nanoparticle is produced by mixing a solution of an aromatic heterocyclic compound having no substituent or at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of a methyl group, an ethyl group, an amino group, an aminomethyl group, a monomethylamino group, a dimethylamino group, and a cyano group and containing 2 to 8 carbon atoms and 1 to 4 nitrogen atoms in a ring structure of the aromatic heterocyclic compound, with a solution containing a cerium (III) ion or with a cerium (III) salt, followed by addition of an oxidant.

The present invention relates to a method for electrochemical purification of an aqueous solution comprising the steps of: providing a cathode and an anode to an aqueous solution, wherein said aqueous solution comprises soluble ions of at least one toxic heavy metal and wherein said cathode comprises an outer surface, which outer surface comprises a noble metal; applying an absolute potential to said cathode and wherein said absolute potential of said cathode drives the formation of an alloy comprising said noble metal and said at least one toxic heavy metal.

A composite material of polyurethane foam having a layer of reduced graphene oxide and polystyrene is described. This composite material may be made by contacting a polyurethane foam with a suspension of reduced graphene oxide, drying, and then irradiating in the presence of styrene vapor. The composite material has a hydrophobic surface that may be exploited for separating a nonpolar phase, such as oil, from an aqueous solution.

A bismuth iodide oxide/zinc oxide composite material, a preparation method therefor and an application thereof in piezoelectric photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants. The conductive substrate spin-coated with a zinc oxide seed solution is annealed and added to the precursor solution for reaction to obtain a zinc oxide nanorod array (ZnO NRs); the zinc oxide nanorod array is added into a bismuth iodide precursor solution for reaction to obtain the bismuth iodide oxide/zinc oxide composite material (BiOI/ZnO NAs). The composite material is put into an aqueous solution containing bisphenol A, adsorption is performed in the dark for half an hour, and then ultrasound and visible light are used together to remove organic pollutants in the water. After piezoelectric photocatalytic degradation of 90 minutes, bisphenol A in the aqueous solution is almost completely degraded.

Materials for binding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are disclosed. A fluidic device comprising the materials for detection and quantification of PFAS in a sample is disclosed. The fluidic device may be configured for multiplexed analyses. Also disclosed are methods for sorbing and remediating PFAS in a sample. The sample may be groundwater containing, or suspected of containing, one or more PFAS.

An electrical water filter device includes a plurality of porous electrodes and one or more porous separators. Each of the one or more porous separators is interposed between two adjacent porous electrodes. A respective porous electrode includes a connection portion extending outside an edge of a porous separators next to the respective porous electrode.

Various examples related to resin wafer technologies including ionomers and resin wafers with solution processable ionomers and their production are provided. In one example, a wafer includes an ion conducting layer having ion-exchange resin particles and an ionomer binder coating the ion-exchange resin particles. The ionomer binder can bind the ion-exchange resin particles together in the ion conducting layer. In another example, the wafer can contain water dissociation catalysts for promoting water-splitting in the wafers.

Provided are sequestering agents for sequestering non-water moieties from an aqueous solution. The sequestering agents may comprise a detergent; and a polymer operable to stabilize formation of a detergent micelle thereby causing the detergent and polymer to self-assemble into a nanonet upon exposure to the aqueous solution. Also provided are kits therefore and methods for use of the sequestering agents and kits.

Magnetic nanoparticle coated porous materials for recovering a contaminant from contaminated water are provided. In embodiments, such a material comprises a porous substrate having a solid matrix defining a plurality of pores distributed through the solid matrix and further comprising a coating comprising magnetic nanoparticles on surfaces of the solid matrix.

A universal, scalable, solvent-free, one-step method for thermal annealing a stainless steel membrane to create a superhydrophilic surface. The superhydrophilic membrane itself, and methods for using it to separate oil and water in an oil and water mixture or for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and other organic contaminants.