Development of Polymer Nanocomposites As Next Generation Enterosorbents

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl, more commonly known as PFAS, are a type of manufactured chemicals that are commonly found in nonstick appliances and fire-resistant clothing. Once PFAS enter the body, they have been proven to cause adverse health effects including, but not limited to cancer, birth defects in infants, and immunosuppression. In recent years, there has been an emergence of research surrounding the removal of these chemicals from water supplies and more specifically, the human body. The purpose of this study is to synthesize and characterize hydrogel nanocomposites to analyze their effectiveness in the removal of PFAS from the body.

The hydrogels are synthesized with acrylamide and N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide (N,N-MBA) as the primary monomer and crosslinker, respectively, along with the cationic co-monomers diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) and N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]acryl- amide, methyl chloride quaternary (DMAPA-Q) that increase the hydrogels infinity toward the negatively charged PFAS. Calcium montmorillonite is used as a nanoparticle in some of the hydrogels as well to increase the sorption efficiency. Once synthesized, the hydrogels are characterized through swelling studies, mass conversion, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). After characterization, they are analyzed through sorption studies to determine their effectiveness in removing PFAS from the body.

Although the sorption studies have yet to be analyzed, physiochemical characterization shows trends that are consistent with hydrogel properties such as a decreasing swelling ratio with increasing crosslinking density. There is also not a significant difference between the mass yield of the hydrogels. Additionally, FTIR analysis shows successful synthesis of materials with peaks that relate acrylamide and N,N-MBA to and the synthesized hydrogel.