Adsorption and hysteresis of bisphenol A and 17alpha-ethinyl estradiol on carbon nanomaterials

Adsorption of 17alpha-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) and bisphenol A (BPA) on carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) was investigated. Single point adsorption coefficients (K) showed significant relationship with specific surface areas of CNMs for both chemicals, indicating surface area is a major factor for EDC adsorption on CNMs. BPA adsorption capacity is higher than EE2 on fullerene and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). Our molecular conformation simulation indicated that BPA has a unique ability to adsorb on the curvature surface of CNMs because of its "butterfly" structure of two benzene rings. The higher adsorption capacity of BPA over EE2 is well explained by considering helical (diagonal) coverage of BPA on the CNMs surface and wedging of BPA into the groove and interstitial region of CNM bundles or aggregates. The comparison of K(HW) (hexadecane-water partition coefficient) normalized adsorption coefficients between EDCs and several polyaromatic hydrocarbons indicates that pi-pi electron donor--acceptor system is an important mechanism forthe adsorption of benzene-containing chemicals on CNMs. The high adsorption capacity and strong desorption hysteresis of both chemicals on SWCNT indicate that SWCNT is a potential adsorbent for water treatment.