Researchers have developed a boronic acid-functionalized three-dimensional graphene aerogel designed to achieve selective adsorption of phenolic compounds in complex multicomponent aerosols. Addressing the challenge where structurally similar molecules compete for identical adsorption sites, the material achieves preferential retention of catechol during dynamic aerosol filtration.
The adsorbent was synthesized through the modification of a three-dimensional graphene aerogel with 1,2-benzenediboronic acid. Following this functionalization, the specific surface area of the graphene aerogel increased from 380.69 to 539.88 m² g⁻¹.
In dynamic multicomponent aerosol filtration experiments, the functionalized aerogel filters demonstrated selective reductions in catechol delivery. The detected catechol quantities after filtration through composite filters designated B-14/CA and B-18/CA were 65.94 and 65.21 μg/cig, respectively, compared with 106.13 μg/cig observed for a conventional cellulose acetate filter. Other representative phenolic compounds exhibited responses distinct from catechol, demonstrating differential filtration in the competitive multicomponent system.
Density functional theory calculations revealed that the optimized catechol complex did not correspond to a conventional boronate ester. Instead, a noncovalent boron-oxygen contact of approximately 2.06 Å closed a seven-membered pseudo-cyclic adsorption configuration without dehydration.
Adsorption energy calculations yielded similar values for catechol at −0.34319 eV and guaiacol at −0.34799 eV, indicating that a single optimized adsorption energy is insufficient to explain the experimental selectivity. The findings indicate that the combination of hierarchical porous transport and configuration-dependent noncovalent recognition contributes to the preferential retention of catechol in multicomponent aerosols.
Subject of Research: Selective catechol adsorption from multicomponent aerosols using functionalized graphene aerogels
Article Title: Boronic acid-functionalized graphene aerogels for selective catechol removal in complex multicomponent phenolic aerosols
Article References: Yin, M., Si, X., Li, Z., Zhang, W., Jiang, W., Zhang, F., Shi, L., Zhang, D., Wang, M., & Yao, Z. (2026). Boronic acid-functionalized graphene aerogels for selective catechol removal in complex multicomponent phenolic aerosols. Frontiers in Materials, 13, Article 1923528. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2026.1923528
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.3389/fmats.2026.1923528
Keywords: graphene aerogel, boronic acid functionalization, catechol adsorption, phenolic aerosols, multicomponent filtration, noncovalent recognition, density functional theory, Boronic, acid-functionalized, graphene, aerogels, selective
News Source: Neil Sanderson. (November 7, 2026). Functionalized Graphene Aerogels Selectively Filter Catechol From Complex Phenolic Aerosols. Scienmag.
