Organic pollutant collection and electrochemical CO2 reduction promoted by pH-Responsive surfactants

Abstract

PH-responsive surfactants with controllable self-assembly properties are expected to become recyclable sources for collecting organic pollutants and capturing CO2 in aqueous solutions. In this work, F9-N2-mor exhibits remarkable pollutant-collection and CO2-capture properties, which are confirmed by the saturation concentrations of Mes-Acr-Me+ and pyrene dyes increasing 78.7-fold and 54.1-fold, respectively, and the electrochemical CO2 reduction current being enhanced 3.22-fold. The promoted pollutant collection and electrochemical CO2 reduction in these pH-responsive surfactants are outstanding compared to the commercial surfactants SDS and SDBS. More interestingly, these pH-responsive surfactants defoam at pH values below 4, and are easily recycled. Overall, pH-responsive surfactants provide a new inspiration for pollutant collection, oil removal and CO2 conversion.