In view of the high risk that metals pose to
living beings’ lives, it is of great importance that
their emission to the environment is greatly
reduced or, if possible, eliminated, and also that a
rigorous control over their emission is
accomplished. To do so, many techniques have
been proposed to remediate wastewaters One of the main
techniques is the use of adsorbent materials like
zeolites, silicas, polymers, cellulose,
industrial/agricultural wastes, activated carbon and
clays among others Nevertheless,
some of these materials in their bare forms do not
present extraordinary adsorptive capacity and,
thus, require an organofunctionalization step, prior
to their application as adsorbents
In spite of the current great success acquired by
organofunctionalized materials, they still present a
serious drawback in detriment of their wide
application, which is the use of costly high purity
reagents and solvents involved in their
manufacturing. Furthermore, the synthesis and
functionalization of such materials are usually
associated to the generation of toxic residues