Stage 1 (Objectives I & II, 2022)

• we have synthesized ligands and chelates, mainly Schiff bases, that can reversibly bind metal ions;
• we have synthesized metal organic complexes from the afore mentioned ligands and chelates with the metallic ions: Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II) & Cd(II);
• we have synthesized snowman-type Janus nanoparticles (JNPs) consisting of two lobes, one coming from seed polystyrene nanoparticles PS-NPs and the other from a phase separated polymer poly(3-trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate (PTSPM);
• we obtained homologous series of JNPs with varying amphiphilicity by adjusting the relative Janus lobe sizes;
• polidentated ligands, such as branched-polyethileneimine (b-PEI), were attached onto teh PTSPM Janus lobe of the JNPs (JNP-b-PEI) and we have shown that these are amphiphilic by showing their ability to lower the interfacial tension and stabilize Pickering emulsions;
• JNP-b-PEI have been utilized in the emulsification of molten wax and by cooling we obtained microspheres that are capable of binding transitional metal ions from water;
• we have syntehsized pseudoamphiphilic silica nanoparticles functionalized with certain functional groups (NP) that can also stabilize Pickering emulsions;
• wtih the silica NPs we were able to stabilize Pickering emulsions and obtain microspheres that were ion imprinted with the help of the ligand and metal-organic complexes;
• we have published one article showing that microspheres obtained from Pickering emulsions can extract ions from water.

Stage 2 (Objectives III, IV & V, 2023)

• we have synthesized several series of polymer microspheres carrying ligands utilizing the PEmPTech;
• these microspheres are capable of adsorbing metal ions from waters, and these were tested for Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II) adsorbtion from model water samples; 
• The adsorption and recovery capacity of the microsphere adsorbents is comparable with the capacity of ion imprinted material adsorbents reported in literature;
• We have also synthesized adsorbents as monoliths, blocks and composites that are capable of metal ion extractions from water;
• We have also obtained these adsorbents as films/membranes that are currently being tested for their adsorbtion capacites.

Publications:

(1)  Extraction of Metal Ions by Interfacially Active Janus Nanoparticles Supported by Wax Colloidosomes Obtained from Pickering Emulsions; O. Pauli, A. Honciuc, , Nanomaterials 12 (2022) 3738, doi.org/10.3390/nano12213738.

(2)  Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology─Toward Nanostructured Materials for Applications in Metal Ion Extractions from Wastewaters; Honciuc, A.; Solonaru, A.-M.; Honciuc, M.; ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2023, 5, 8012–8022, doi:10.1021/acsapm.3c01267.

(3)  Water-Floating Hydrogel Polymer Microsphere Composites for Application in Hydrological Mining of Cu(II) Ions; Honciuc, A.; Solonaru, A.-M.; Honciuc, M.; Nanomaterials 2023, 13, doi:10.3390/nano13192619.

(4)  Reversible Cu-Nanoparticle Formation in Soft Hydrogel Composites: Towards Write-Erase Displays and Fluorescence Detection; A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, , Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 668 (2024) 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.147.

(5)  Interfacing Langmuir–Blodgett and Pickering Emulsions for the Synthesis of 2D Nanostructured Films: Applications in Copper Ion Adsorption, Nanomaterials; A. Honciuc, O.-I. Negru, M. Honciuc, 14 (2024) 809. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14090809.

(6)  Polymer Microspheres Carrying Schiff-Base Ligands for Metal Ion Adsorption Obtained via Pickering Emulsion Polymerization; A. Honciuc, O.-I. Negru, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, J. Compos. Sci. 8 (2024) 271. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs8070271.

(7)  M. Honciuc, A. Honciuc, Morphological Design and Synthesis of Nanoparticles, Nanomaterials 14 (2024) 360. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14040360.

Conferences (International):

(1)  Fluid or Solid Ligand-Carrying Surface Nanostructured Microspheres Utilized in Extraction and Recognition of Metal Ions; A. Honciuc, A. M. Solonaru, O.I. Negru, M. Honciuc; 20th International Conference on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (NN23), Thessaloniki, Greece, 4-7 July 2023 (comunicare)

(2)  Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology (PEmPTech) Applied for Ion Imprinted Polymers; M. Honciuc, A.M. Solonaru, O.I. Negru, A. Honciuc; 20th International Conference on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (NN23), Thessaloniki, Greece, 4-7 July 2023 (poster)

(3)  Utilization of Polymerized Pickering Emulsions in Extraction and Recovery of Metal Ions from Waters; A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, O.-I. Negru, M. Medrihan, M. Asandulesa; 25th International Conference: Materials, Methods and Technologies, Burgas, Bulgaria, 17-20 August 2023 (comunicare)

(4)  Wastewater Treatment with Innovative Material Produced by Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology (PEmPTech); A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, O.-I. Negru, M. Medrihan, M. Asandulesa  32nd International Conference: Ecology and Safety, Burgas, Bulgaria, 14-17 August 2023 (comunicare)

(5)  Mitigating Pollution of Waters with Innovative Nanomaterials; M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, O.-I. Negru, A. Honciuc, M. Medrihan, M. Asandulesa 32nd International Conference: Ecology and Safety, Burgas, Bulgaria, 14-17 August 2023 (poster)

(6)  Application of Functionalized Nanoparticles in the Synthesis of Ion-Imrpinted Polymers; M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, O.-I. Negru, A. Honciuc, M. Medrihan, M. Asandulesa; 25th International Conference: Materials, Methods and Technologies, Burgas, Bulgaria, 17-20 August 2023 (poster)

(7)  Advanced 2D Nanostructured Films Engineered via Langmuir-Blodgett and Pickering Emulsions for Cu(II) Ion Removal in Wastewater Treatment A. Honciuc, O.-I. Negru, M. Honciuc, 33d International Conference: Ecology and Safety, Burgas, Bulgaria, 12-15 August 2024 (comunicare)

(8)  Dynamic Cu-Nanoparticle Formation in Soft Hydrogel Composites for Reversible Write-Erase Displays and Fluorescence Detection, A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, 26th International Conference: Materials, Methods and Technologies, Burgas, Bulgaria, 15-18 August 2024 (comunicare) 

Conferences (National):

(1)  Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology (PEmPTech) Utilized for Obtaining Ion-Imprinted Polymer Materials; M. Medrihan, A. Honciuc, V. Harabagiu, A.-M. Solonaru, O.-I. Negru, M. Honciuc, 5th Ed. IasiCHEM, Iasi, Romania, 26-27 Octombrie 2023 (comunicare)

(2)  Synthesis of Ion Imprinted Polymer Microspheres by Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology; O.-I. Negru, A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, M. Medrihan; 5th Ed. IasiCHEM, Iasi, Romania, 26-27 Octombrie 2023 (comunicare)

(3)  Synthesis of Polymer Microparticles and their Application in the Extraction of Heavy Metal Ions from Aqueous Environments; A.-M. Solonaru, A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, O.-I. Negru, M. Medrihan; 5th Ed. IasiCHEM, Iasi, Romania, 26-27 Octombrie 2023 (poster)

(4)  Nanostructured polymer materials obtained from Pickering emulsion polymerization technology; M. Medrihan, A. Honciuc, V. Harabagiu, O.-I. Negru, A.-M. Solonaru, M. Honciuc; the 4th Edition of Open Door to The Future. Scientific Communications of Young Researchers, MacroYouth’2023, 17th of November 2023 (comunicare, premiul al III-lea pentru cea mai buna prezentare)

(5)  Fundamentals and applications of amphiphilic Janus nanoparticles, A. Honciuc, XXXVII Edition of the National Conference on Chemistry, "CNCHIM 2024"”, , Târgoviste, România, 25-27 Septembrie 2024 (conferință)

(6)  Polyphenols encapsulated in polymeric microparticles: absorption and release properties, M. Honciuc, A. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, XXXVII Edition of the National Conference on Chemistry, "CNCHIM 2024"”, , Târgoviste, România, 25-27 Septembrie 2024 (comunicare)

(7)  Microspheres obtained from pickering emulsion stabilized by Janus nanoparticles as adsorbents of metal ions from water, A.-M. Solonaru, A. Honciuc, M. Honciuc, O.-I. Negru, XXXVII Edition of the National Conference on Chemistry, "CNCHIM 2024"”, , Târgoviste, România, 25-27 Septembrie 2024 (comunicare)

(8)  Polymeric microspheres obtained from Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology (PEmPTech) for colorimetric recognition of metal ions, M. Medrihan, A. Honciuc, V. Harabagiu, M. Honciuc, A.-M. Solonaru, O.-I. Negru, XXXVII Edition of the National Conference on Chemistry, "CNCHIM 2024"”, , Târgoviste, România, 25-27 Septembrie 2024 (comunicare)

(9)  Obtaining polymer microspheres through Pickering Emulsion Polymerization Technology, 6th Ed. IasiCHEM, Iasi, Romania, 31st Octombrie – 1st Noiembrie, 2024 (comunicare).