Efficient Detection and Removal of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Using Cyclodextrin-Modified Cellulose

Chempluschem. 2020 Aug;85(8):1730-1736. doi: 10.1002/cplu.202000410.

Abstract

Covalent functionalization of cellulose with β-cyclodextrin by succinic acid-promoted cross-linking leads to a dual-function material that efficiently promotes proximity-induced energy transfer from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to squaraine fluorophores with high quantum yields, and removes PAHs from aqueous solution through non-covalent binding. This material, which possesses a high functionalization density (0.17 μg/mm2 of cyclodextrin on cellulose), promotes energy transfer efficiencies as high as 58 % (for an anthracene donor in combination with a squaraine fluorophore acceptor), and leads to the removal of up to 91 % of a PAH (pyrene) from aqueous solution by mixing of the solution with the functionalized material. Overall, the high performance of this material in both proximity-induced energy transfer and the removal of PAHs from water means that such a method has significant potential impact in a variety of real-world environmental remediation scenarios.

Keywords: cellulose; cyclodextrins; fluorescence spectroscopy; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; sensors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Cellulose / chemistry*
  • Cyclodextrins / chemistry*
  • Energy Transfer
  • Environmental Pollutants / isolation & purification
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / analysis*
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / isolation & purification*

Substances

  • Cyclodextrins
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Cellulose