Synthesizing a Novel Branched Surfactant for Improved Contaminant Removal from Water, Poster 5

Industrial waste, pesticide, fertilizer, and petroleum pollution is a widespread and pervasive problem that threatens aquatic systems and human drinking water. Modified clay-minerals are a new remediation technique that... [ view full abstract ]

Industrial waste, pesticide, fertilizer, and petroleum pollution is a widespread and pervasive problem that threatens aquatic systems and human drinking water. Modified clay-minerals are a new remediation technique that could enhance current ineffective wastewater and drinking water treatment methods. The Costanza-Robinson lab seeks to understand the interlayer chemistry of organic surfactant-modified clays (organoclays) in order to design efficacious organoclays for remediation. We hypothesize that the crystallinity (i.e. rigidness or arrangement) of the surfactant in the interlayer hinders contaminant uptake. Using a surfactant with a branched carbon tail will disrupt interlayer crystallinity and thus improve contaminant uptake. To test this hypothesis, I am synthesizing a novel branched surfactant 2-hexyl-1-decyltrimethylammonium bromide (21TMA) through a three step process that has required adaptation. Upon completion of the synthesis, clay will be modified with 21TMA and its performance will be compared to a linear analog by future students.