1. High-porosity conjugated polyelectrolytes synthesized via Sonogashira–Hagihara coupling in concentrated emulsions : robust adsorptive–photocatalytic hydrogels for water pollutant removalAleksander Saša Markovič, Siebe Lievens, Emeline Hanozin, Milica Velimirovic, Albin Pintar, Sebastijan Kovačič, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) hydrogels uniquely combine π-conjugation, ionic functionality, and water compatibility in a single-polymer network. This work reports on the design, synthesis, and application of high-porosity CPE hydrogels obtained via the Sonogashira–Hagihara cross-coupling reaction as a polymerization chemistry in a high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) template. In this way, we combine the hydrophilic and π-conjugated electronic properties of CPEs with the high porosity of polymerized high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPEs or PHs), enabling the development of a multifunctional polymer platform. High-porosity CPE-PHs exhibit a surface area of up to 355 m2·g–1, excellent water uptakes of up to ∼25 g·g–1, and visible-light absorption with band edges at 720 and 610 nm and band gaps of 2.35 and 2.47 eV for anionic CPE-PH–SO3̅ and cationic CPE-PH-NMe3+, respectively. These CPE-PHs are then used to remove the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) as a model water pollutant. The CPE-PH–SO3̅ demonstrates exceptional performance, achieving overall removal efficiencies of 93% and 96% through synergistic adsorption (∼71% and ∼50%, respectively) and visible light-driven photocatalysis (∼22% and ∼46%, respectively) during 8 and 24 h experiments. These efficiencies are among the highest reported for organic photocatalyst. In contrast, the cationic analogue CPE-PH-NMe3+ suffers from oxidative degradation and thus limited activity. Stability studies confirmed that CPE-PH–SO3̅ retains its structural and electronic integrity during prolonged operation. These results demonstrate the potential of high-porosity CPE-PH hydrogels as a multifunctional polymer platform that synergistically integrates adsorption and heterogeneous photocatalysis for robust and efficient water applications.
Keywords: adsorption, degradation, hydrogels, oxides, polymers
Published in DKUM: 14.01.2026; Views: 0; Downloads: 0
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2. Upcycling of plastic waste into multi-walled carbon nanotubes as efficient organic dye adsorbentGordana Bogoeva Gaceva, Meri Sokolovska, Viktor Stefov, Metodija Najdoski, Sebastijan Kovačič, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Multi-walled CNTs with an average diameter of about 80 nm, a length of several micrometers and surface area (SBET) of 100 m2 g–1 were obtained by pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene waste. The potential of the resulting MWCNTs material to purify water containing organic dyes was tested with Bezaktiv Blau HE-RM (BB) and Bezaktiv Rot S-3B (BR) reactive dyes. 200 mg L–1 MWCNT material was used to follow the adsorption of 30 mg L–1, 40 mg L–1, 50 mg L–1 and 60 mg L–1 BB and BR at pH 3 and a temperature of ~25 °C. The results have shown that this material has a high potential as a sorbent, and its adsorption capacity of 257 mg g–1 (for Bezaktiv BlauHE-RM) and 213 mg g–1 (for Bezaktiv Rot) is close to some commercial MWCNTs and functionalized MWCNT-based adsorbents. The adsorption process was very fast, reaching 80–90% of the dye removal in 10–15 minutes, and the equilibrium time was reached in 40–60 minutes. The adsorption isotherm showed that the Langmuir model was more suitable than the Freundlich model for describing the adsorption properties of the pollutants.
Keywords: adsorption, anionic dyes, upcycling plastic waste, carbon nanotubes
Published in DKUM: 12.01.2026; Views: 0; Downloads: 0
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3. PAMPS PolyHIPEs : the role of shape, porosity, and sulfonate group density on metal-ion adsorption from waterSebastijan Kovačič, Roko Vladušić, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: In this study, the adsorption performance of poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS)-based polymerizedhigh internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE) for the removal of Zn 2+, Fe3+, and Al 3+ ions from water is investigated. The triple-factoranalysis includes the role of shape, porosity, and sulfonate group density. By systematically comparing different forms of PAMPS,that is, polyHIPE beads and monoliths (shape effect), PAMPS homopolymers and copolymers ( SO3− group density effect), andporous polyHIPEs compared to commercially available gel-type, non-macroporous beads (porosity effect), we determine howstructure–function relationships govern metal ion uptake. The results show ion-specific effects: The high charge density of Fe3+and Al 3+ generates a strong electrostatic driving force for multipoint binding to SO3− groups, which leads to fast adsorption. Incontrast, Zn 2+ adsorption is slower due to its lower charge density and the relatively stable hydration sphere. It therefore appearsto be diffusion-limited compared to Fe3+ and Al 3+. These results show how the polymer architecture can be tuned to optimizeadsorption efficiency, selectivity, and robustness. Such a design principle of PAMPS-based polyHIPEs demonstrates a strategy tocustomize adsorbents for advanced water treatment applications.
Keywords: emulsion polymerization, hydrophilic polymers, polyelectrolytes
Published in DKUM: 12.12.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 1
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7. Sinteza N-vinilkaprolaktam-ko-N,N-dimetilakrilamidnih poliHIPE z uporabo emulzijskega sistema olje-v-olju : magistrsko deloŠpela Podgrajšek, 2025, master's thesis Abstract: V okviru magistrskega dela smo z uporabo emulzijskega sistema olje-v-olju sintetizirali visoko porozne polimerne materiale na osnovi N-vinilkaprolaktama (VCL) in N,N-dimetilakrilamida (DMAA). Preizkusili smo različna molska razmerja VCL in DMAA ter jih zamrežili z dvema različnima zamreževaloma, in sicer z N,N'-metilenbisakrilamidom (MBAA) in etilen glikol dimetakrilatom (EGDMA). Primerjali smo uspešnost polimerizacije dveh različnih tipov emulzijskega sistema, ugotavljali stabilnost emulzije pri različnih zamreženjih ter spreminjali zamreženost naših visoko poroznih polimerov.
Za uspešno polimerizacijo poliHIPE smo izbrali ustrezen tip emulzijskega sistema ter primeren surfaktant. Eksperimentalno smo potrdili predvidevanje, da z emulzijskim sistemom voda-v-olju ne bi bili uspešni. V nadaljnjih analizah smo se osredotočili na emulzijski sistem olje-v-olju in preučevali vpliv različnih parametrov na kemijske in fizikalno-morfološke lastnosti materialov. S FTIR spektroskopijo smo identificirali prisotnost funkcionalnih skupin, s 13C CP/MAS NMR spektroskopijo pa smo potrdili uspešno polimerizacijo kopolimerov in homopolimerov, značilnih za uporabljena monomera in zamreževala. PoliHIPE strukturo smo potrdili s SEM in helijevo piknometrijo.
Keywords: poliHIPE, kopolimer, emulzija, N-vinilkaprolaktam, N, N-dimetilakrilamid, temperaturno odzivni polimeri
Published in DKUM: 26.08.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 29
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8. Zwitterionic, ion-in-conjugation porous polymer networks : synthesis and photooxidation of bisphenol A in waterAleksander Saša Markovič, Tomaž Kotnik, Sebastijan Kovačič, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: In this work, we have developed an easy approach for vinylene-linked ion-in-conjugation porous polymer networks (IIC-PPN) using Knoevenagel polycondensation of predesigned zwitterionic N-(3-sulfopropyl)-2,6-(dimethyl)pyridinium salt and 1,3,5-triformylbenzene as monomers. The resulting IIC-PPNs exhibit a porous morphology with high specific surface areas up to 263 m2·g-1. Although the IIC-PPN network contains arylene-vinylene nodes that make it apolar, the incorporation of zwitterionic pyridinium building blocks enable a significant ionic dipole, which is reflected in the water uptake of 14.5 g·g-1, which is higher than that of similar poly(arylene-cyano-vinylene)s with 7.0, 8.5 and 5.3 g·g-1 for PAV–CN, PAV–OMe, and PAV–CHO, respectively. The IIC-PPNs exhibit significant semiconducting properties with optical absorption band edges of 512 nm and an electrochemical band gap of 2.55 eV. The intriguing properties of IIC-PPN prompted us to use them as heterogeneous photocatalysts to photooxidize the endocrine disrupting compound bisphenol A (BPA) dissolved in water under visible light.
Keywords: conjugated polymers, zwitterion, Ion-in-conjugation, IIC, heterogeneous photocatalysis, bisphenol A, BPA
Published in DKUM: 29.05.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 7
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10. Comparative study of different polymeric binders in electrochemical CO reductionNoémi V. Galbicsek, Attila Kormányos, Gergely Ferenc Samu, Mohd M. Ayyub, Tomaž Kotnik, Sebastijan Kovačič, Csaba Janáky, Balázs Endrődi, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Electrochemical reduction of carbon monoxide offers a possible route to produce valuable chemicals (such as acetate, ethanol or ethylene) from CO2 in two consecutive electrochemical reactions. Such deeply reduced products are formed via the transfer of 4–6 electrons per CO molecule. Assuming similar-sized CO2 and CO electrolyzers, 2–3-times larger current densities are required in the latter case to match the molar fluxes. Such high reaction rates can be ensured by tailoring the structure of the gas diffusion electrodes. Here, the structure of the cathode catalyst layer was systematically varied using different polymeric binders to achieve high reaction rates. Simple linear polymers, bearing the same backbone but different functional groups were compared to highlight the role of different structural motifs. The comparison was also extended to simple linear, partially fluorinated polymers. Interestingly, in some cases similar results were obtained as with the current state-of-the-art binders. Using different surface-wetting characterization techniques, we show that the hydrophobicity of the catalyst layer─provided by the binder─ is a prerequisite for high-rate CO electrolysis. The validity of this notion was demonstrated by performing CO electrolysis experiments at high current density (1 A cm–2) for several hours using PVDF as the catalyst binder.
Keywords: electrochemical CO reduction, polymeric binders, carbon monoxide
Published in DKUM: 04.02.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 7
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