Removal of the emerging contaminant bisphenol A by an ureasil-PEO hybrid membrane: experimental study and molecular dynamic simulation.

This work reports the use of a cross-linked ureasil-PEO hybrid matrix (designated PEO800) as an efficient adsorbent to retain the emerging contaminant bisphenol A (BPA) from an aqueous medium. The in-deep experimental and theoretical results provide information about the interactions between PEO800 and BPA. The in situ UV-vis spectroscopy data and the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich, and Morris-Webber intraparticle diffusion models allowed us to propose a three-step mechanism for the adsorption of BPA onto PEO800.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Environmental Applications of Hybrid Materials Based on Humic Acid Obtained by the Sol-Gel Route.

Humic acids (HAs) are ubiquitous macromolecules in the environment. Due to their high contents of oxygenated functional groups, they can interact with contaminants present in the natural environment and therefore influence the behavior of pollutants. However, a pH of 2 or lower is required to maintain HAs in the solid form.