Biomimetic mercury immobilization by selenium functionalized polyphenylene sulfide fabric
Hailong Li, Fanyue Meng, Penglin Zhu, Hongxiao Zu, Zequn Yang, Wenqi Qu, Jianping Yang
Abstract
Abstract Highly efficient decontamination of elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) remains an enormous challenge for public health and ecosystem protection. The artificial conversion of Hg 0 into mercury chalcogenides could achieve Hg 0 detoxification and close the global mercury cycle. Herein, taking inspiration from the bio-detoxification of mercury, in which selenium preferentially converts mercury from sulfoproteins to HgSe, we propose a biomimetic approach to enhance the conversion of Hg 0 into mercury chalcogenides. In this proof-of-concept design, we use sulfur-rich polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) as the Hg 0 transporter. The relatively stable, sulfur-linked aromatic rings result in weak adsorption of Hg 0 on the PPS rather than the formation of metastable HgS. The weakly adsorbed mercury subsequently migrates to the adjacent selenium sites for permanent immobilization. The sulfur-selenium pair affords an unprecedented Hg 0 adsorption capacity and uptake rate of 1621.9 mg g −1 and 1005.6 μg g −1 min −1 , respectively, which are the highest recorded values among various benchmark materials. This work presents an intriguing concept for preparing Hg 0 adsorbents and could pave the way for the biomimetic remediation of diverse pollutants.