Study of the\nInteractions between Simple Coacervates\nand Chemicals for Water Depollution by Self-coacervation

The use of microextraction or sequestration offers a\npromising\nmethod for removing chemicals from polluted water. Simple coacervates,\nwhich are water-in-water droplets, present the advantage of being\nformed at a given pH while being destroyed upon pH-change. Theoretically,\nsuch stimuli-responsiveness could be leveraged to recover the pollutant.\nCoacervates have shown exceptional capability in sequestering diverse\nchemicals and colloids. In this paper, we seek to understand more\nin-depth the sequestration mechanisms occurring with a variety of\nusual ionic pollutants, both qualitatively and quantitatively, since\nthe presence of ions can affect the coacervate formation. By combining\nmicroscopy observations with spectroscopic analysis, we have precisely\ndefined the nature and strength of the interactions between coacervates\nand chemicals. Our findings indicate that polluted solutions treated\nwith coacervates show removal efficiencies ranging from 30% to 90%.\nWe highlight that factors such as charge, concentration, solubility,\nand process play critical roles in the sequestration efficiency of\nthese coacervates. Understanding these interactions is crucial for\nadvancing several fields, particularly in water purification processes.