Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) based microgels and their assemblies for organic molecule removal from water

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the application of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) microgels and their assemblies for the removal of an azo dye molecule, Orange II, from water. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the different techniques that are used for water treatment and remediation. Chapter 2 focuses on hydrogel materials and their properties, with special focus on pNIPAm based microgels. Chapter 3 details the effect of increasing the concentration of percent AAc present in the microgels on the removal of Orange II from water and the concentration of the microgels in the solution. Chapter 4 describes the effect of aggregating the poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-acrylic acid (pNIPAm-co-AAc) microgels on the uptake efficiencies. Chapter 5 describes the effect of the microgel diameter in the aggregates on the removal efficiency. Chapter 6 describes the possibility of reusing these microgel based systems for further remediation. Finally, Chapter 7 gives a brief outlook on the future directions.