• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.101-110
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• 2013

Due to the large specific surface area and great reactivity toward environmental contaminants, nanocrystalline mackinawite (FeS) has been widely applied for the remediation of contaminated groundwater and soil. Furthermore, nanocrystalline FeS is rather thermodynamically stable against anoxic corrosion, and its reactivity can be regenerated continuously by the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria. However, nanocrystalline mackinawite is prone to either spread out along the groundwater flow or cause pore clogging in aquifers by particle aggregation. Accordingly, this mineral should be modified for the application of permeable reactive barriers (PRBs). In this study, coating methods were investigated by which mackinawite nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of alumina or activated alumina. The amount of FeS coating was found to significantly vary with pH, with the highest amount occurring at pH ~6.9 for both minerals. At this pH, the surfaces of mackinawite and alumina (or activated alumina) were oppositely charged, with the resultant electrostatic attraction making the coating highly effective. At this pH, the coating amounts by alumina and activated alumina were 0.038 and 0.114 $mmol{\cdot}FeS/g$, respectively. Under anoxic conditions, arsenite sorption experiments were conducted with uncoated alumina, uncoated activated alumina, and both minerals coated with FeS at the optimal pH for comparison of their reactivity. Uncoated activated alumina showed the higher arsenite removal compared to uncoated alumina. Notably, the arsenite sorption capacity of activated alumina was little changed by the coating with FeS. This might be attributed to the abundance of highly reactive hydroxyl functional groups (${\equiv}$AlOH) on the surface of activated alumina, making the arsenite sorption by the coated FeS unnoticeable. In contrast, the arsenite sorption capacity of alumina was found to increase substantially by the FeS coating. This was due to the consumption of the surface hydroxyl functional groups on the alumina surface and the subsequent occurrence of As(III) sorption by the coated FeS. Alumina, on the surface area basis, has about 8 times higher FeS coating amount and higher As(III) sorption capacity than silica. This study indicates that alumina is a better candidate than silica for the coating of nanocrystalline mackinawite.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2023

Hydrogels that are made of natural polymer-based double networks have excellent biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and high water content, assuring that the material has the properties required for a variety of biomedical applications. However, hydrogels also have limitations due to their relatively weak mechanical properties. In this study, hydrogels based on an alginate di-aldehyde (ADA) and gelatin (Gel) double network that is reinforced with additional hydrogen bonds formed between the hydroxyl (-OH) groups of the hyperbranched polymer (HPG) and the functional groups present inside of the hydrogels were successfully synthesized. The enhanced mechanical properties of these synthesized hydrogels were evaluated by varying the amount of HPG added during the hydrogel synthesis from 0 to 25%. In addition, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) were synthesized within the hydrogels and the structures and the magnetic properties of the hydrogels were also characterized. The hydrogels that contained 15% HPG and Fe₃O₄ NPs exhibited superparamagnetic behaviors with a saturation magnetization value of 3.8 emu g^-1. These particular hydrogels also had strengthened mechanical properties with a maximum compressive stress of 1.1 MPa at a strain of 67.4%. Magnetic hydrogels made with natural polymer-based double networks provide improved mechanical properties and have a significant potential for drug delivery and biomaterial application.