About the Seminar:

Activated carbons are one of the primary ways of removing toxic pollutants, such as heavy metals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and microplastics, from the environment. How metals, which facilitate substrate binding, adsorb onto these materials are poorly understood and pose research challenges due to their porous structure and large surface area. Carboxylate functional groups, present on activated carbon surfaces, are known to catalyze metals through monodentate binding or chelation. Ethylenediamenetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a highly accommodating chelator with six coordination sites that form a metal-carboxylate cage. Vibrational frequency features of carboxylates are defined by distinct OCO asymmetric and symmetric stretches. We discuss utilization of OCO peak analysis from [M(II)·EDTA]2– structures to better understand how these metals coordinate to activated carbons.