what is full form of iVOFm?

Viologen-unit grafted organic framework

Molecular Sponge to Remove Pollutants from Water: IISER

Case Study of the Day: Molecular Sponge to Remove Pollutants from Water: IISER

In order to reduce the burden of Water Contamination, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune has come up with a custom-designed unique molecular sponge-like material.

About the Development

The presently used sorbent materials for water purification trap the pollutants through an ion-exchange strategy to purify water, but they suffer from poor kinetics and specificity.
The developed material named Viologen-unit grafted organic framework (iVOFm), employs an amalgamation of electrostatics-driven ion exchange combined with nanometer-sized macropores and specific binding sites for the targeted pollutants.
- Ion Exchange (IX) is a process of deionisation where dissolved impurity ions in water are replaced by hydrogen and hydroxyl ions, purifying the water.
The size and number of tunable macropores, along with the strong electrostatic interaction of iVOFm can quickly remove various toxic pollutants from water.
The fast pollutant trapping capacity of the material is attributed to the faster diffusion of pollutants through the ordered interconnected presence of macropores in the material.
On the whole, this cationic compound is adaptable for sequestering various pollutants and is a possible solution to the water pollution problem.