Current methods of removing organic pollutants from water are becoming ineffective as the world population increases. In this study, a series of biorenewable triblock copolymers with hydrophobic poly(ε-caprolactone) block and hydrophilic poly(l-lactide) blocks were synthesized and tested as agents to remove environmental pollutants from an aqueous solution. The percent of pollutant removed and equilibrium inclusion constants were calculated for the polymers. These values were compared to previously known removal agents for their effectiveness. Triblock copolymer samples removed over 70% of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) phenanthrene from an aqueous solution, with selectivity for the adsorption of phenanthrene over other PAHs tested. The inclusion constant was 7.4 × 105 M−1 and adsorption capacity was 5.8 × 10−7 mol phenanthrene/g polymer. Rose Bengal was used to further probe the nature of interactions between the copolymers and a small molecule guest. Solid samples of the block-poly(l-lactide)–block-poly(ε-caprolactone)–block-poly(l-lactide) (PLLA–PCL–PLLA) systems were found to rapidly remove over 90% of Rose Bengal from aqueous solution, resulting in a complete disappearance of the characteristic pink color. Solutions of the copolymers in dichloromethane also removed Rose Bengal from water with a similar level of efficiency. Large inclusion constant values were obtained, ranging from 1.0 × 105 to 7.9 × 105 M−1, and the average adsorption capacity value of 6.2 × 10−7 mol/g polymer was determined. Aged polymer samples exhibited different adsorption characteristics and mechanistic theories for the removal of Rose Bengal were determined. The triblock copolymer consisting of l-lactide and ε-caprolactone was effective in removing various organic pollutants in aqueous environments. It is a biorenewable material which leads to minimal waste production during its lifecycle. These polymers were in general more effective in removing organic pollutants than commercially available pollution removal systems.

中文翻译：

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由 l-丙交酯和 ε-己内酯组成的生物可再生三嵌段共聚物用于去除水中的有机污染物：生命周期中性解决方案

随着世界人口的增加，目前从水中去除有机污染物的方法变得无效。在这项研究中，合成了一系列具有疏水性聚 (ε-己内酯) 嵌段和亲水性聚 (l-丙交酯) 嵌段的生物可再生三嵌段共聚物，并对其作为从水溶液中去除环境污染物的试剂进行了测试。计算聚合物的污染物去除百分比和平衡包含常数。这些值与以前已知的去除剂的有效性进行了比较。三嵌段共聚物样品从水溶液中去除了超过 70% 的多环芳烃 (PAH) 菲，对菲的吸附选择性高于其他测试的 PAH。夹杂常数为 7.4 × 105 M-1，吸附容量为 5。8 × 10−7 mol 菲/g 聚合物。Rose Bengal 用于进一步探究共聚物与小分子客体之间相互作用的性质。发现嵌段-聚(l-丙交酯)-嵌段-聚(ε-己内酯)-嵌段-聚(l-丙交酯) (PLLA-PCL-PLLA) 体系的固体样品可快速去除 90% 以上的玫瑰红。水溶液，导致特征性粉红色完全消失。共聚物在二氯甲烷中的溶液也以相似的效率从水中去除玫瑰红。获得了较大的夹杂常数值，范围从 1.0 × 105 到 7.9 × 105 M-1，并测定了 6.2 × 10-7 mol/g 聚合物的平均吸附容量值。老化的聚合物样品表现出不同的吸附特性，并确定了去除玫瑰红的机理理论。由l-丙交酯和ε-己内酯组成的三嵌段共聚物可有效去除水环境中的各种有机污染物。它是一种生物可再生材料，可在其生命周期内减少废物产生。这些聚合物在去除有机污染物方面通常比市售的污染去除系统更有效。