المستخلص: |
Water pollution is increasingly becoming a global issue. A pollutant species such as arsenic, mercury and fluoride present in water can lead to serious environmental and health problems. Therefore, the synthesis of macrocyclic receptors capable to remove such species from water become one of the most interesting research area in the field supramolecular chemistry. In this work the main objective was to design receptors with selective properties for the removal of polluting ions from water. Thus a calix[4]pyrrole derivative, namely, meso- tetramethyl-tetrakis[N-(2-phenoxyethyl) N’phenylthiourea]calix[4]pyrrole CP(III) was synthesised and characterised by several NMR techniques.. 1H NMR was used to identify the active sites of complexation between the ligand and the ionic species in DMSO-d6 at 298 K. From the 1H NMR data it was discovered that this receptor interacts only with mercury and fluoride ions. Conductance measurements were performed to determine the composition of the complex and to obtain qualitative information on the strength of receptor-ion interactions. The degree of recognition of the receptor for these pollutants is reflected in the thermodynamics associated with these processes. These were determined by nano-calorimetry. It is concluded that the receptor CP(III) behaves as a ditopic receptor . Final conclusions and suggestions for further work aiming to explore this material for water decontamination purposes are given.
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