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Elucidating Adsorptive Fractions of Natural Organic Matter on Carbon Nanotubes Mohamed Ateia, Onur G. Apul, Yuta Shimizu, Astri Muflihah, Chihiro Yoshimura, and Tanju Karanfil Environ. Sci. Technol., Just Accepted Manuscript • Publication Date (Web): 24 May 2017 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on May 25, 2017

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Environmental Science & Technology

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Elucidating Adsorptive Fractions of Natural Organic Matter on

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Carbon Nanotubes

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Mohamed Ateia*,1, Onur G. Apul2,3, Yuta Shimizu1, Astri Muflihah1, Chihiro Yoshimura1, Tanju

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Karanfil4

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M1-4 Ookayama, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-

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Lowell, MA 01854, USA

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AZ 85259, USA

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SC 29625, USA

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell,

School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe,

Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Anderson,

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* Corresponding author: [email protected]; Phone: 0081-80-3430-9753

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Submitted to: Environmental science & technology

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Submission Date: March 10th, 2017

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Revised and resubmitted: May 22nd, 2017 1 ACS Paragon Plus Environment


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Abstract

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Natural organic matter (NOM) is a heterogeneous mixture of organic compounds that is

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omnipresent in natural waters. To date, our understanding of NOM components’ adsorption by

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carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is limited due to limited number of comprehensive studies in the

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literature examining the adsorption of NOM by CNTs. In this study, eleven standard NOMs from

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various sources were characterized, and their adsorption on four different CNTs were examined

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side-by-side using total organic carbon, fluorescence, UV-visible spectroscopy, and high

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performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) analysis. Adsorption was influenced by

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chemical properties of NOM, including aromaticity, degree of oxidation and carboxylic acidities.

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Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix analysis showed preferential adsorption of decomposed

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and terrestrial-derived over freshly produced and microbial-derived NOM. HPSEC analysis

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revealed preferential adsorption of fractions in the molecular weight (MW) range of 0.5−2 kDa of

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humic acids, while in MW range of 1−3 kDa for all fulvic acids and reverse osmosis isolates.

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However, the smallest characterized fraction (MW < 0.4 kDa) in all samples did not adsorb on

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CNTs.

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Keywords: natural organic matter, carbon nanotubes, adsorption, fluorescence index, molecular

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weight

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1. Introduction

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Natural organic matter (NOM) is ubiquitous in fresh waters and found in concentrations that range

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from 1−2 mg-C/L up to 40 mg-C/L depending on the source and climate.1, 2 The presence of NOM ,

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which is a mixture of complex polyelectrolytes, during water treatment process possess a broad

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range of problems, such as increase in chemical demands, formation of disinfection byproducts,

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taste and odor problems, and fouling of activated carbons and membranes.3, 4 Therefore, several

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processes have been employed to remove NOM from water, including coagulation, membrane

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filtration, ion exchange, advanced oxidation processes and adsorption.5

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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their high surface areas, hydrophobicity, porosity, and rapid

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sorption kinetics, have been explored as one of the next-generation adsorbents. 6, 7 Over the past

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decade, extensive studies have investigated applications of CNTs to adsorb several organic and

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inorganic water contaminants.8, 9 Furthermore, the interactions between CNTs and NOM have

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been examined in some studies.1, 10-17 Adsorption mechanisms of NOM components by CNTs

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include; hydrophobic interactions, π-π interactions, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic

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interactions.10, 18 These interactions are influenced by: 1) characteristics of CNTs (e.g., surface

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area, pore volume, and surface functionalities),10,

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composition (e.g., molecular weight and size),13, 19 and 3) solution chemistry (e.g., pH, water

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temperature, and ionic strength).1, 10

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It was also reported that conformation and composition of NOM remaining in water will change

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as a result of adsorption process due to NOM fractionation.15,

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comprehensive studies in the literature examining the adsorption of NOM by CNTs. Today, limited

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observations in previous studies are due to a number of factors: 1) different NOM used in these

14, 19

2) NOM molecular structure and


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However, there is no


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studies (i.e., different chemical and physical characteristics), 2) limitations in the number of NOM

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tested under different experimental conditions, and 3) limited and different techniques employed

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in NOM characterization (e.g., high performance size exclusion chromatography analysis

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(HPSEC)10, 12 vs. E2/E3 (UV absorbance at 250 nm/365 nm) and E4/E6 (UV absorbance at 465

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nm/665 nm)).11, 15

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In this study, our objective was to systematically investigate the adsorption behavior of eleven

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NOM from various sources performing isotherm and kinetic experiments and using a suite of

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NOM characterization techniques (total organic carbon, fluorescence, UV-vis spectroscopy and

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HPSEC). The results will give a more robust understanding for adsorption behavior of NOMs on

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CNTs in natural waters or the potential applications for water treatment.

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2. Materials and Methods

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Materials

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Four standard humic acids (Elliott Soil IV [ESHA], Pahokee Peat [PPHA], Leonardite [LHA], and

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Suwannee River II [SRHA]), four standard fulvic acids (Suwannee River II [SRFA1], Suwannee

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River I [SRFA2], Pahokee Peat II [PPFA], and Nordic Lake [NLFA]), and three RO isolates

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(Nordic Reservoir [NNOM], Upper Mississippi River [MNOM], and Suwannee River [SNOM])

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were purchased from the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS). The chemical properties

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of the NOM, including elemental composition/ratio, carbon species, the concentration of acidic

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functional groups, fluorescence indexes, and average molecular weights are listed in Table 1 and

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Table S1.

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Three different multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and one single-walled carbon

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nanotubes (SWCNT) were purchased from Wako pure chemicals, Japan and Chengdu Alpha Nano 4 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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Technology Co., Chinese Academy of Science, China. Characteristics of all carbon nanotubes used

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in this study are listed in Table 2. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas, pore

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volumes and pore size distributions were measured from nitrogen physisorption data at 77 °K

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obtained with ASAP 2020 analyzer (Micromeritics Instrument Corp. U.S.). The oxygen content of

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adsorbents was analyzed using a Flash Elemental Analyzer 1112 series (Thermo Electron

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Corporation).

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Preparation of NOM solutions

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NOM samples (25−50 mg) were dissolved in a 0.01 M NaOH solution to prepare a stock solution

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of 10 g/L. The pH of each NOM solution was adjusted to 7.0 ± 0.2 with 0.01 M HCl or 0.01 M

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NaOH. The volume of acid or alkali solution was recorded and was taken into account during

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calculation of the final NOM concentration. All stock solution were stored in dark and refrigerated

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(4 °C), when not in use.

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Adsorption isotherms

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Batch reactors were used to perform adsorption experiments. Each NOM stock solution was

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diluted with 1 mM phosphate buffer solution then adjusted to pH of 7.0 ± 0.2. Based on preliminary

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kinetic experiments, the equilibrium time was set at 24 h (Section S1 in SI). Adsorption isotherm

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experiments were carried out under different conditions: 1) constant CNT dose and variable NOM

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concentrations (2.5−60 mg/L), and 2) variable CNT dose (125−500 mg-CNT/L) and constant

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NOM concentration. At the end of the equilibrium time, samples were collected, filtered (pre-

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washed 0.45 µm PES filter, Membrane Solutions, Japan), and kept refrigerated until further

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measurements. The adsorbed NOM amount (measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) were

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determined by subtracting the concentration of dissolved NOM remaining in the solution from the



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initial concentration. Each isotherm point was performed in triplicates and variations were reported

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as standard error. Blank experiments (with no adsorbents) were conducted in parallel, and the

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change in NOM concentrations in blanks were found negligible.

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Analysis

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DOC concentrations were quantified using a total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer (Shimadzu V-

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series, TOC-CHP, Japan). The UV absorbance at 254 nm was obtained with an UV−visible

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spectrophotometer (Shimadzu UV-1800, Japan). The specific UV absorption (SUVA254) values

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were calculated by dividing the UV absorbance at 254 nm (m-1) to the DOC concentration (mg/L).

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Average molecular weight of all samples were determined using a high performance size exclusion

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chromatography (HPSEC) unit (SHIMADZU Prominence, Japan), SEC column (Shodex column

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[SB-803 HQ]) and mobile phase (75% phosphate buffer + 25% acetonitrile (Wako Pure Chemicals

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ltd, Japan)) adjusted at pH 7. Detection of NOM was achieved with a UV detector set at 254 nm.

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Polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) standards (1.0, 4.6, 18, and 67 kDa) were purchased from Polyscience

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Inc. and were used as standard molecular weights. Molecular weights and polydispersity were

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determined according to Chin, et al. 21 It should be noted that calculated average MW values by

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HPSEC with UV-vis detectors are skewed by SUVA of the DOC. Variations in MW values

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obtained from HPSEC in different studies are due to changes in mobile phases, electrostatic

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repulsion, and column type; nevertheless, SEC is useful technique to compare changes in

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molecular weights among different samples.22

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EEM fluorescence was measured as described by Murphy, et al. 23 using a RF-5300 fluorescence

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spectrometer (Shimadzu Co. Ltd., Japan) and a quartz cuvette (1 cm path length). Raw EEMs were

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collected from 240 nm to 450 nm for excitation (Ex: at 5 nm intervals) and from 300 nm to 600

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nm for emission (Em: at 2 nm intervals). EEM spectra were processed by spectral correction, inner 6 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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filter correction, Raman correction, and quinine sulfate calibration, and then analyzed using the

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FDOMcorr toolbox.23 Excitation-emission pairs (peak picking)24 used in this study are described

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in Table S2. Fluorescence intensities are reported in Raman units (RU). Fluorescence Index (FI)

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was calculated by the ratio of the emission intensity at Em 450 nm relative to that at Em 500 nm

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at Ex 370 nm. The freshness index (BIX) was calculated by taking the intensity ratio of Em 380

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nm relative to that of Em 430 nm at Ex 310 nm.25

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3. Results and Discussion

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3.1. Characterization of NOM

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Variations in the molecular composition (i.e., C%, O%, and H%) of NOM used in this study are

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shown in Table S1. Generally, carbon content was higher in humic acids than fulvic acids and RO

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isolates, and oxygen content was high for NOM from aquatic sources. The heterogeneity of natural

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organic matter depends on its source (e.g., aquatic, soil, etc.), which also influences their

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adsorption behavior.

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(one humic acid), peat (one humic acid and one fulvic acid), and aquatic sources from rivers and

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lakes (one humic acid, three fulvic acids, and three RO isolates).

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Other major differences among NOM were SUVA254 and average molecular weight (MW) (Fig.

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S1 and S2). Aromaticity, as indicated by SUVA254, was higher for humic acids [4.9−7.0 L/mg.m]

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(LHA > PPHA > ESHA > SRHA) than fulvic acids [3.4−4.6 L/mg.m] (NLFA > SRFA2 > PPFA

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> SRFA1) and RO isolates [2.6−3.6 L/mg.m] (SRNOM > NNOM > MNOM) (Table 1). This trend

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is in agreement with previous studies by Hyung and Kim 10 and Rodríguez and Núñez 27. To the

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best of our knowledge, among the total eleven NOM in this study, the average MW values of only

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five NOM (i.e., ESHA, LHA, SRHA, SRFA1, and SRFA2) were previously reported and showed,

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Sources of NOM in this study included soil (one humic acid), leonardite



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in general, good agreement with our measurements.2, 28-31 We also noted that some previous studies

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reported incomparable average MW values for some of IHSS standard NOM, thus, they were

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excluded from the comparison. For example, we found that reported average MW for NLFA by

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Persson, et al. 32, ESHA by Heo, et al. 33, and SNOM by Wagoner, et al.

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400%, and 1200% higher than average values, respectively. However, specific reasons for the

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overestimated values in the studies mentioned above were not obvious due to the fact that: 1) some

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studies did not report details of samples’ preparation (reported as N.A. in Table S3), and 2) the

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limited number of samples in each study. Detailed comparison of the results and experimental

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conditions between this and previous studies was summarized in Table S3.

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EEM is being used frequently for NOM characterization in water owing to its high sensitivity,

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good selectivity and preservation of samples.35 Therefore, two EEM indices, FI and BIX, were

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used to categorize the source and age of NOM. FI tracks the source of NOM as microbial-derived

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(e.g., organic matter from aquatic microorganisms) and terrestrially-derived.

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values higher than 1.8 and less than 1.2 are classified as microbial-derived NOM and terrestrial-

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derived NOM, respectively.25 FI values between 1.2 and 1.8 indicate that NOM is a mixture of

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microbial and terrestrial aquatic substances. In the present study, FI values were higher for fulvic

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acids (FA) [1.16−1.29] and RO isolates [1.33−1.49] than those of humic acids (HA) [0.84−1.0]

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(Table 1). Higher FI for FA than HA was previously reported in Rodríguez, et al. 37, and, to the

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best of our knowledge, FI values for standard IHSS RO isolates were not previously reported in

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the literature. BIX is called index of recent autochthonous contribution and can be described by

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the ratio between the recently-derived NOM and the decomposed (i.e., older) NOM.38 According

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to BIX classification, all NOM in the present study appeared to be decomposed with BIX values

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less than 0.6, and none was freshly produced (BIX > 1) (Table 1). BIX values for IHSS samples


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were around 300%,

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NOM with FI

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fall in the same range, between 0.2 and 0.4, in previous studies.39 NOM were further characterized

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based on EEM peaks (Table S2) and showed variations in component compositions (P1−P5) as

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illustrated in Fig. S3. Detailed characterizations of EEM peaks in this study are described in section

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S2 in SI.

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3.2. Effect of NOM molecular properties on the adsorption affinity

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The results of adsorption isotherms and corresponding Freundlich model (Eq. 1) for eleven NOM

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on four CNTs are presented in Table S4.

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Qe  K F Ce1/ n

(1)

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where; KF [(mg-C/g)/(mg-C/L)1/n] is Freundlich constant and 1/n is an exponent.

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Fig. 1 shows the results of adsorption isotherm experiments for MWCNT C1 (Table 2). Freundlich

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model showed good fit with the isotherms data as indicated by the coefficient of determinations

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(R2) ranging between 0.87−0.98 (Table S4), which agrees with previous reports of NOM

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adsorption on activated carbon2, carbon nanotubes10, and graphene nanomaterials 3.

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Based on the NOM sources, adsorption capacities follow the order of: leonardite > peat > soil >

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aquatic. According to NOM type, the adsorption affinity of humic acids was generally higher than

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fulvic acids (Fig. 1 and Table S4). This was attributed to higher aromaticity of humic, as indicated

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by their SUVA254 values (Table 1). Similar trends were previously reported for adsorption of

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NOM by graphene and MWCNTs3, 10. Among NOM characteristics, SUVA254, an indicator for

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aromaticity, showed a strong linear relationship with KF regardless of the source and the type of

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NOM (Fig. 2A and S4) 10. The adsorption affinity was inversely proportional to the atomic ratio

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of H/C and the polarity index (i.e., the atomic ratio (O+N)/C) (see Fig. 2C, 2D, S5). These findings

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show that hydrophobic repulsion from water and π–π attractions are the main driving forces of 9 ACS Paragon Plus Environment


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adsorption between NOM and CNTs. In addition, carboxylic acidities of NOM showed a negative

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correlation with the adsorption affinity (Fig. S6). A similar trend was previously reported for

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adsorption of NOM with different carboxylic acidities on granular activated carbon.2 Lastly, NOM

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with higher average molecular weight exhibited higher adsorption affinity (Fig. 2B), however, the

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detailed effect of molecular weight will be further discussed in Section 3.4.

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All adsorption results were also processed for the adsorption affinity (Qe) at three different

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equilibrium concentrations (Ce = 5±1, 11±1, and 22±1 mg-C/L). According to our analysis, the

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examined adsorption capacities showed similar trends to those of KF for the tested parameters (See

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Fig. S4, S5, and S6).

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Oxygen containing groups on CNTs’ surface give them more hydrophilic character and can result

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in reducing the adsorption capacity of organic compounds

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for the CNTs in this study fall in narrow range (i.e., 0.21−0.30 wt.% for MWCNTs and 1.3 wt.%

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for SWCNTs) (Table 2). Thus, the adsorption dependency on the physical characteristics of CNTs

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(i.e., surface area and pores size) was examined and discussed in section S3 in SI. BET results

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showed that CNTs have different surface areas (98−380 m2/g) and pore volumes (0.4−0.9 cm3/g)

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(Table 2). Due to the fact that micropores (< 2nm) are not likely accessible to all NOM molecules12,

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only meso- (2 nm > PV> 50 nm) and macropores (> 50 nm) were taken into account. Basically,

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the sorption coefficient (Kd = Q/Ce) was normalized to the surface area and pores volume of four

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different CNTs (i.e., one SWCNTs and three MWCNTs) to adsorb SRHA, SRFA1, and SNOM.

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Wang, et al.12 reported, in addition to the effect pores size, that normalized adsorption affinity

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increased when they used CNTs with large outer diameter (OD). This can be linked to the enhanced

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dispersion of CNTs with large OD compared to that with small OD41 and/or less curvatures of

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CNT-surface allowing better alignment of adsorbate’s molecules.42

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. However, surface oxygen content


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3.3. Preferential adsorption related to the source and the age of NOM

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Lavonen, et al. 43 reported FI to be a good indicator to check the changes in NOM during several

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different treatment processes in water treatment plants (e.g., coagulation, filtration, disinfection,

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etc.). Similarly, Rodríguez, et al.37 applied FI to monitor the compositional changes in humic

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substances after ozonation treatments. In another study by Kothawala, et al.

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evaluate the characteristics of NOM after sorption to soil particles. In the present study, as listed

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in Table 1, FI values for the bulk samples of NOM (i.e., before adsorption) indicated that all HAs

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were more likely to be terrestrial-derived NOM (FI < 1.2). However, FAs and RO isolates share

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the characteristics of mixtures of both terrestrial and microbial aquatic NOM (1.2 < FI < 1.8).25, 45

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Fig. 3A shows that, FI values for all NOM types were increased after adsorption (FI > 1.2). This

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is an indication of a preferential adsorption for terrestrial-derived compounds. This is consistent

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with notion that NOM with low FI are rich with aromatic moieties (Fig. S7A), as previously

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reported by Ateia, et al.46 and Shimabuku, et al.20 High negative correlation (R2 = 0.89) was also

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found between FI and average MW of all NOM (Fig. S7B). This confirm the adsorption results in

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the previous section, where the adsorption affinity of NOM with high average MW (i.e., HAs) was

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higher than NOM with smaller average MW (i.e., FAs and RO isolates).

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Unlike FI, the increasing trend of BIX was observed only for HAs, while BIX values were slightly

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changed for FAs and RO isolates after adsorption on CNTs. BIX increment was more pronounced

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for ESHA and LHA followed by PPHA and SRHA (Fig. 3B), however, the overall trend illustrates

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the preferential adsorption for decomposed NOM fractions over freshly produced NOM. One

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possible reason is, according to Hunt and Ohno 47 and Yu-Lai, et al. 48, that decomposed fractions

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(i.e., low BIX) have higher C/N ratio and higher aromaticity than freshly produced NOM. Further,

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Fig. S8 illustrates the gradual changes in FI and BIX with time in kinetic adsorption experiments 11 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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, FI was used to


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with six NOM (i.e., ESHA, SRHA, SRFA, NLFA, NNOM, and SNOM). From these results, FI

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was more sensitive and suitable to describe and track the changes of NOM compositions.

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NOM is a heterogeneous mixture of complex organic compounds. Therefore, preferable adsorptive

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portions of NOM dominate the adsorption behavior at low concentration conditions and the

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adsorption process would be limited by the available adsorption sites (i.e., surface area) when

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elevating NOM concentrations.10 In this regard, further analysis showed that the variations in FI

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and BIX were also concentration dependent. As shown in Fig. S9 and S10, changes in FI and BIX

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were pronounced at equilibrium concentration (Ce) up to 5 mg-C/L, however, at high

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concentrations they were similar to original values before adsorption. Thus, fluorescence indices

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can serve as an easy and practical tool for tracking NOM fractionations during the adsorption

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process on CNTs.

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Although, EEM was applied successfully to track the changes of NOM compositions after

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biological43 and physical37 treatment processes, very few studies utilized EEM as a tracking tool

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for NOM preferential adsorption on graphene nanomaterials, e.g. Peng, et al.17 and Lee, et al.26. In

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this study, five EEM peaks with different pairs reflected several fractions with variations in the

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source and the size (Fig. S3 and Table S2).36, 49 Fig. 4 shows the normalized removal of each

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fraction for six NOM as a function of time. Terrestrial and hydrophobic components showed the

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highest preferential adsorption. This observation was reported for adsorption of landfill leachate

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on activated carbon 50, and soil-derived HA on graphene oxide.26 It can also reinforce the argument

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of the preferential adsorption of terrestrial fractions over microbial NOM similar to FI values.

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Interestingly, the intensity of P5 [Excitation/Emission: 270/492] (Fig. 4E) did not decrease after

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adsorption of all NOM tested in this study on CNTs. This peak represents aromatic amino acids


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(protein-like or tryptophan-like component).25,

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checking molecular weight of the residual fractions, as discussed in details in the following section.

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26

This observation was further examined by

3.4. Preferential adsorption based on the average molecular weight of NOM

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NOM contain mixtures of compounds that vary in the aromatic content and adsorption capacities.

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Among NOM used in this study, all humic acids, with wider molecular weight range (0.2−90 kDa)

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and higher polydispersity (ρ = 2.7−5.8), showed similar preferential adsorption in the MW range

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between 0.5 to 2 kDa. Meanwhile, the adsorption in MW range more than 1 kDa was more

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preferable for all fulvic acids and RO isolates which have narrower molecular weight (0.2−10 kDa)

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and lower polydispersity (ρ = 1.5−1.9) (Fig. S11). Thus, the molecular weight distribution was

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changed after adsorption which was clearly reflected on the avg. MW of the residual fractions (Fig.

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5). According to Gotovac, et al. 51, higher number of benzene rings in the aromatic structure of a

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specific fraction increases its adsorption affinity on CNTs. This selectivity was examined and

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tracked as function of time as visualized in Fig. S12. Further, the selective behavior was confirmed

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by two ways; 1) increasing the CNT dose (increasing the SSA) (Fig. 6A), and 2) adsorption on

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different types of CNTs (Fig. 6B). Previous studies on NOM adsorptive fractions on CNTs or

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graphene oxides only reported that high MW fraction are more preferable for adsorption. However,

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they solely drew their conclusion based on aquatic NOM

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changes in NOM molecular compositions were not reported (e.g., avg. MW, MW distribution, and

284

polydispersity).

285

Another observation in this study was the ‘selective’ adsorption on CNTs for the fraction with

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MW of 1−3 kDa from the bulk samples of FA and RO isolates (Fig. 6, Fig. S11 and Fig. S12).

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According to Lv, et al.

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comparison results between HPSEC and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass

52

3, 10

or soil FA 11, and details about the

, this fraction is likely to be aromatic molecular groups, based on the



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spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). In another study by Li, et al.19 tested CNTs to adsorb styrene sulfonate

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(SS) and polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) with different molecular weight values (0.2, 4.3, 6.8, 10.0,

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17.0, and 70.0 kDa) and the highest adsorption capacity was for PSSs with avg. MW of 4.7 kDa.

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It is important to highlight that, based on HPSEC, the small fraction (MW< 0.4 kDa) did not adsorb

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on CNTs (Fig. 6, S11 and S12). This supports EEM results and can be linked to protein-like

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compounds (Fig. 4E) which were not removed by CNTs as well. Cai, et al. 3 reported the same

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‘no uptake’ behavior of small fraction for adsorption of NOM on graphene oxides. Therefore, we

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interpret that NOM fractions with MW < 0.4 kDa are more likely to be hydrophilic compounds

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that can’t adsorb on CNTs.22

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In this study, the comprehensive characterization of NOM before and remaining after adsorption

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along with the characterization of CNTs provided important insights to the adsorption of NOM by

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CNTs. The results indicate that FI can serve an easy, and practical tool to describe and track the

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fractionation of NOM during the adsorption process. The selective adsorption for the MW range

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of 0.5−2 kDa for humic acids, and MW range of 1−3 kDa for all fulvic acids and RO isolates was

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also revealed. Given the wide variety of NOMs in aquatic and soil environments, findings from

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this study further contribute to clarify and predict the adsorption behavior of NOMs on CNTs in

305

natural waters and/or the potential applications for water treatment. However, further studies to

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examine and identify the adsorptive fractions of NOM by CNTs using sensitive techniques (e.g.,

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mass spectroscopies) are still needed to elucidate the factors controlling adsorption behavior of

308

this complex material.

309

Associated Content

310

Supporting Information. Adsorption kinetics (section S1, Table S5, Fig. S13). EEM peaks

311

description (section S2, Table S2, Fig. S3). Effect of CNT surface area and pore volume on 14 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 15 of 33


312

adsorption (section S3, Fig. S14, S15). NOM characteristics (Table S1). HPSEC results (Table S3,

313

Fig. S1, S11, S12). Freundlich isotherm results (Table S4). SUVA254 vs. Avg. MW (Fig. S2). KF

314

vs. NOM molecular properties (Fig. S4, S5, S6). FI vs. SUVA254 and Avg. MW (Fig. S7). FI and

315

BIX at different times (Fig. S8) and with elevating concentrations (Fig. S9, S10).

316

Acknowledgments

317

This work was supported in part by Program for Leading Graduate School "Academy for Co-

318

creative Education of Environment and Energy Science", MEXT, Tokyo Institute of Technology

319

and the JSPS Core-to-Core Program. We would like to thank Mahmut Ersan, Department of

320

Environmental Engineering and Earth Science, Clemson University for providing BET results.

321

References

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466 467 468 469 470 21 ACS Paragon Plus Environment


471

List of Tables:

472

Table 1. The types, codes and selected physicochemical and fluorescence properties of natural

473

organic matters used in this study.

474

Table 2. Characteristics of all carbon nanotubes used in this study.


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Page 23 of 33

475 476


Table 1. The types, codes and selected physicochemical and fluorescence properties of natural organic matters used in this study. Type

Humic Acids

Fulvic Acids

RO Isolates 477 478 479 480 481

Code

Cat. No.

SUVA254a (L/mg.m)

MW (kDa)b

Mn (kDa)b

ρ(-)c

ESHA

4S102H

6.2

5.8

1.0

PPHA

1S103H

6.9

6.2

LHA

1S104H

7.0

SRHA

2S101H

SRFA1

EEM Indices FI d

BIX e

5.8

0.84

0.25

1.5

4.2

0.86

0.24

4.8

1.0

4.8

0.94

0.28

4.9

3.9

1.4

2.7

1.00

0.25

2S101F

3.5

1.8

1.0

1.8

1.19

0.27

SRFA2

1S101F

4.0

1.8

1.2

1.5

1.16

0.24

PPFA

2S103F

3.9

1.4

0.9

1.7

1.29

0.30

NLFA

1R105F

4.6

1.8

1.0

1.8

1.20

0.28

NNOM

1R108N

3.6

1.3

0.6

1.9

1.33

0.31

MNOM

1S110N

2.6

1.3

0.7

1.7

1.49

0.39

SNOM

1R101N

3.3

1.5

0.8

1.8

1.34

a

0.30 (m-1)

The specific UV absorption (SUVA) values were calculated by dividing the UV absorbance at 254 nm divided by the DOC concentration (mg/L). b weight average MW and number average MW were measured using HPSEC. c Polydispersity (ρ) was calculated as MW/Mn, d Fluorescence Index (FI) was calculated by the ratio of the emission intensity at Em 450 nm relative to that at Em 500 nm at Ex 370 nm. e The freshness index (BIX) was calculated by taking the intensity ratio of Em 380 nm relative to that of Em 430 nm at Ex 310 nm.

482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489



490

491 492 493 494

Page 24 of 33

Table 2. Characteristics of all carbon nanotubes used in this study.

Code

Type

SA (m2/g)a

C1

MWCNT

136

C2

SWCNT

380

C3

MWCNT

114

C4

MWCNT

96

PVTotal (cm3/g)a

PVMicro (cm3/g) [%]a

PVMeso (cm3/g) [%]a

PVMacro (cm3/g) [%]a

0.45 [100] 0.9 [100] 0.47 [100]

0.02 [4] 0.05 [5] 0.02 [3]

0.34 [68] 0.81 [91] 0.36 [65]

0.14 [28] 0.04 [4] 0.18 [32]

0.4 [100]

0.01 [2]

0.34 [76]

0.10 [22]

OD (nm)b

Oxygen Content (wt.%)c

Purity (%)b

Supplier

3-20

0.30

> 95

Wako Chemicals, Japan

1-2

1.32

> 90

Alpha Nano, Chinese Academy of Science, China

5-10

0.21

> 98


10-20

0.25

> 98


a

The BET surface areas, pore volumes and pore size distributions were measured from nitrogen physisorption data at 77 °K obtained with ASAP 2020 analyzer (Micromeritics Instrument Corp. U.S.). b Information provided by the suppliers. SA is surface area, PVtotal is the total pore volume, PVMicro is the volume of micropores (i.e., PV < 2nm), PV Meso is the volume of mesopores (i.e., 2nm 50nm). b Information provided by the suppliers. c The oxygen contents were analyzed by using a Flash Elemental Analyzer 1112 series (Thermo Electron Corporation).


Page 25 of 33


495

List of Figures

496

Fig. 1. Isotherm results for [A] humic acids, [B] fulvic acids, [C] RO isolates used in this study.

497

The initial NOM concentrations was increased with fixing the same CNT-dose (C1: SSA = 134

498

m2/g) at 250 mg-CNT/L and at the same equilibrium time of 24 h. Experimental data were fitted

499

to Freundlich model (dashed line).

500

Fig. 2. Relationship between Freundlich constant KF with [A] SUVA254, [B] average molecular

501

weight, [C] H/C elemental ratio, and [D] O/C elemental ratio for all NOM used in this study

502

(ESHA: Gray solid circle, PPHA: Solid square, LHA: Solid diamond, SRHA: Gray solid Triangle,

503

SRFA1: Open circle, SRFA2: Open square, PPFA: Open diamond, NLFA: Open triangle, NNOM:

504

star, MNOM: cross, SNOM: ×).

505

Fig. 3. Changes in values of [A] florescence index (FI) and [B] freshness index (BIX) for all NOM

506

in this study. Ce is 2−3 mg-C/L and equilibrium time is 24 h, at pH 7±0.2. T: terrestrial derived

507

DOM and M: microbial derived DOM.

508

Fig. 4. Kinetics of EEM peaks [P1-P5] for NNOM, SNOM, SRFA1, NLFA, ESHA, and SRHA.

509

Initial NOM concentration was 5 mg/L and CNT concentration was 250 mg/L at pH 7 ± 0.2.

510

Fig. 5. Changes in the average MW for all NOM used in this study. Ce is 2−3 mg-C/L and

511

equilibrium time is 24 h, at pH 7±0.2.

512

Fig. 6. HPSEC graphs for adsorption experiments with Suwanee River different types of natural

513

organic matter (i.e., SRHA, SRFA, and SNOM) for [A] experiments at the same initial NOM

514

concentration (10 mg/L) with five different CNT-doses of one type of CNTs (C1: 134 m2/g), and

515

[B] experiments at the same initial NOM concentration (10 mg/L) with the same CNT dose (250

516

mg-CNT/L) of four different CNTs (C2: SWCNT, and C1,C3, C4: MWCNT). Green color 25 ACS Paragon Plus Environment


Page 26 of 33

517

highlights the MW-range for the preferential adsorptive fraction. Red color highlights the MW-

518

range for the non-preferable fraction.

519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 26 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 27 of 33


542 543

Fig. 1. Isotherm results for [A] humic acids, [B] fulvic acids, [C] RO isolates used in this study.

544

The initial NOM concentrations was increased with fixing the same CNT-dose (C1: SSA = 134

545

m2/g) at 250 mg-CNT/L and at the same equilibrium time of 24 h. Experimental data were fitted

546

to Freundlich model (dashed line).



Page 28 of 33

547 548

Fig. 2. Relationship between Freundlich constant KF with [A] SUVA254, [B] average molecular

549

weight, [C] H/C atomic ratio, and [D] Polarity index (the atomic ratio (O+N)/C) ratio for all NOM

550

used in this study (ESHA: Gray solid circle, PPHA: Solid square, LHA: Solid diamond, SRHA:

551

Gray solid Triangle, SRFA1: Open circle, SRFA2: Open square, PPFA: Open diamond, NLFA:

552

Open triangle, NNOM: star, MNOM: cross, SNOM: ×).

553 554 555 556 557 28 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 29 of 33


558 559

Fig. 3. Changes in values of [A] florescence index (FI) and [B] freshness index (BIX) for all NOM

560

in this study. Ce is 2−3 mg-C/L and equilibrium time is 24 h, at pH 7±0.2. T: terrestrial derived

561

DOM and M: microbial derived DOM.

562 563 564 565 566 567 29 ACS Paragon Plus Environment


568 569

Fig. 4. Kinetics of EEM peaks [P1-P5] for NNOM, SNOM, SRFA1, NLFA, ESHA, and SRHA.

570

Initial NOM concentration was 5 mg/L and CNT concentration was 250 mg/L at pH 7 ± 0.2.

571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 30 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 30 of 33

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584 585

Fig. 5. Changes in the average molecular weight for natural organic matters used in this study. Ce

586

is 2−3 mg-C/L and equilibrium time is 24 h, at pH 7±0.2.

587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597



Page 32 of 33

598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605

Fig. 6. Molecular weight distribution for adsorption experiments with Suwanee River humic acid, fulvic acid, and RO isolates for [A] experiments at the same initial NOM concentration (10 mg/L) with five different CNT-doses of one type of CNTs (C1: 134 m2/g), and [B] experiments with four different CNTs (C2: SWCNT, and C1,C3, C4: MWCNT) at the same initial NOM concentration (10 mg/L) with the same CNT dose (250 mg-CNT/L). Green color highlights the MW-range for the preferential adsorptive fraction. Red color highlights the MW-range for the non-preferable fraction.

606 32 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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607


Graphical abstract

608 609 610


Elucidating Adsorptive Fractions of Natural Organic ... - ACS Publications

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