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Engineered magnetic metal-organic frameworks for efficient and broad-spectrum adsorption of micro/nanoplastics in beverages
Summary
Scientists developed a magnetic material that can remove up to 98% of micro and nanoplastics from beverages, including different plastic types and sizes. The material works through a simple magnetic separation process and can be reused multiple times while maintaining good performance. This technology could help reduce human exposure to microplastics in drinks like water, juice, and other beverages.
Micro/nanoplastics have raised significant concerns due to their intrinsic toxicity and synergistic effects with co-existing pollutants, posing substantial risks to environmental ecosystems and human health. Although metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) demonstrate promising potential as efficient adsorbents for microplastic removal, the structure-activity relationships governing their adsorption mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, engineered magnetic MOFs materials (FeO@carboxymethyl-cellulose(CMC)-MOFs) were designed and synthesized to adsorb micro/nanoplastics. The adsorption behavior of five FeO@CMC-MOFs composites toward micro/nanoplastics was systematically investigated, with particular emphasis on clarifying structure-property correlations. Furthermore, starting from the structural differences, the adsorption mechanism was systematically analyzed by physicochemical characterization, adsorption kinetics and isotherms, and density functional theory. Results showed that FeO@CMC-MIL-101-NH demonstrated superior adsorption performance for polystyrene (PS) mainly through van der Waals interactions. Under optimal conditions, FeO@CMC-MIL-101-NH enabled adsorbing 98.0 % and 245.1 mg/g PS, the maximum adsorption amount was 1923 mg/g based on Langmuir isotherm model. And it remained > 89.0 % efficiency after five cycles. As well as it showed satisfactory adsorption performance for other types of microplastics such as (polypropylene and polyethylene) with different shapes, micro/nano-size, and chargeability (>250 mg/g). Moreover, FeO@CMC-MIL-101-NH can effectively remove > 81.0 % micro/nanoplastics in beverages. The developed engineered magnetic MOFs material has excellent adsorption performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, possessing great potential for the removal of micro/nanoplastics in environment and food systems.