Carbon nanotubes and cyclodextrin polymers for removing organic pollutants from water

Some organic compounds are major water pollutants. They can be toxic or carcinogenic even at low concentrations. Current technologies, however, fail to remove these contaminants to parts per billion (ppb) levels. Here we report on the removal of organic pollutants from water using cross-linked nanoporous polymers that have been copolymerized with previously functionalized carbon nanotubes. These novel polymers can remove model organic species such as p-nitrophenol by as much as 99% from a 10 mg/L spiked water sample compared to granular activated carbon and native cyclodextrin polymer that removed only 47 and 58%, respectively. These polymers have also demonstrated the ability to remove trichloroethylene (10 mg/L spiked sample) to non-detectable levels (detection limit <0.01 ppb) compared to 55 and 70% for activated carbon and native cyclodextrin polymers, respectively.