Contaminate sequestering coatings and methods of using the same
Contaminate-sequestering coatings including a network of hydrolyzed silane compounds including a plurality of thiol functional groups, a plurality of fluorinated functionalities, or both are provided. The contaminate-sequestering coatings may sequester one or more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), heavy metals, biological species or any combination thereof. Methods of functionalizing a substrate surface with contaminate-sequestering functionalities that sequester one or more PFAS, heavy metals, or both are also provided. Methods of removing contaminants from contaminate-containing liquids, and devices including the contaminate-sequestering coatings are also provided.
1. A method of removing contaminants from a contaminant-containing liquid, comprising:
contacting the contaminant-containing liquid with a contaminant-sequestering coating, wherein the contaminant-sequestering coating comprises a network of hydrolyzed silane compounds including a plurality of fluorinated functionalities,
wherein the network of hydrolyzed silane compounds includes a fluorinated silane comprising (i) a hydrophilic polar head region, wherein a polar region comprises one or multiple units of ethylene glycol (EG) functionality; (ii) a fluorine-containing region; and (iii) an anchor region including silicon atom(s).
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contaminant-containing liquid comprises water that comprises one or more poly, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the contaminant-sequestering coating sequesters from about 50% to about 100% by weight of an initial quantity of the one or more PFAS compounds.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the contaminant-sequestering coating sequesters from about 80% to about 100% by weight of an initial quantity of the one or more PFAS compounds.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the contaminant-sequestering coating reduces an initial quantity of the one or more PFAS compounds present in the contaminant-containing liquid to less than about 80 parts-per-trillion (ppt).
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the contaminant-sequestering coating reduces an initial quantity of the one or more PFAS compounds present in the contaminant-containing liquid to less than about 70 parts-per-trillion (ppt).
7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the contaminant-sequestering coating is bonded to at least a portion of a substrate, and the contaminant-containing liquid is passed across and/or through the substrate having the contaminant-sequestering coating bonded thereon.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the contaminant-containing liquid is recirculating across and/or through the substrate until a desired reduction of the one or more PFAS compounds is realized.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the substrate comprises a filter or an ion-exchange bed.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network of hydrolyzed silane compounds includes a fluorinated silane comprising a cyclic hydrocarbon including from 3 to 60 carbon atoms.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network of hydrolyzed silane compounds includes a fluorinated silane including from 4 to about 200 fluorine atoms.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network of hydrolyzed silane compounds includes a fluorinated silane comprising a substituted hydrocarbon including at least one heteroatom selected from oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, or combinations thereof.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network of hydrolyzed silane compounds includes a first group of fluorinated silane compounds and a second group of fluorinated compounds, and wherein the first group of fluorinated silane compounds includes from about 1.5 to about 5 times more fluorine atoms than the second group of fluorinated compounds.