Boron Nitride-Based Adsorbents for Aqueous Pollutants Removal
Summary
The removal of aqueous pollutants such as heavy metals, organic dyes, antibiotics and rare-earth ions is critical to global water security. Boron nitride-based adsorbents have emerged as a versatile class of materials for environmental remediation, leveraging the chemical inertness, high thermal stability and tuneable surface chemistry of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). These materials encompass two-dimensional nanosheets, nanotubes, porous monoliths and composite membranes, offering large specific surface areas and abundant active sites for pollutant binding. Functionalisation strategies—including polymer grafting, magnetic nanoparticle decoration and heteroatom doping—enable precise control over surface charge, hydrophobicity and affinity towards target contaminants. Adsorption mechanisms in BN-based systems often combine electrostatic interactions, π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding to achieve rapid kinetics and high capacities. Moreover, the inherent thermal and chemical robustness of BN facilitates facile regeneration by heat treatment or solvent washing, promoting recyclability. Recent advances have focused on scalable synthesis routes and integration into membrane modules, positioning BN-based adsorbents as promising candidates for next-generation water treatment technologies across industrial, municipal and remote settings.
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Boron Nitride-Based Adsorbents for Aqueous Pollutants Removal publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in boron nitride-based adsorbents for aqueous pollutants removal across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN): Two-dimensional analogue of graphene with alternating boron and nitrogen atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, notable for chemical inertness and high thermal conductivity.
Adsorption capacity: Maximum amount of pollutant mass adsorbed per unit mass of adsorbent under equilibrium conditions.
Specific surface area: Surface area available for adsorption per unit mass of material, often measured by gas adsorption techniques.
Isotherm model: Mathematical description of how adsorbates distribute between liquid phase and adsorbent at equilibrium, such as Langmuir or Freundlich models.
Pseudo-second-order kinetics: Kinetic model assuming adsorption rate is proportional to the square of the number of unoccupied sites, often indicating chemisorption.
References
- Heavy metal and organic dye removal via a hybrid porous hexagonal boron nitride-based magnetic aerogel. npj Clean Water (2022).
- Easy preparation of porous boron nitride with excellent cycle stability for water purification. Desalination and Water Treatment (2024).
- 2D nanochannels and huge specific surface area offer unique ways for water remediation and adsorption: assessing the strengths of hexagonal boron nitride in separation technology. Journal of Materials Science: Composites (2023).
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