An efficient supramolecular adsorbent for co-adsorption of dyes and metal ions from wastewater and its application in self-healing materials.

Herein, a novel type of two-component supramolecular adsorbent, 2-OA, was developed based on non-covalent interactions using tetrazolyl derivative with octadecylamine (OA) and fully characterized using a number of structural and spectral techniques. The self-assembled 2-OA gels displayed remarkable stimuli-responsiveness as well as shape-persistent and self-healing properties. In addition, it was found that the adsorbent 2-OA was able to remove dyes (10 kinds of cationic and anionic dyes) and metal ions (Cu and Fe) simultaneously from wastewater owing to synergistic electrostatic attraction, hydrogen-bonding, and hydrophobic and coordination interactions.