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  4. Lead, Locked Away: Porous Zr–Phytate Coordination Polymer for Rapid and Selective Removal of Pb²⁺ from Water
 
working paper

Lead, Locked Away: Porous Zr–Phytate Coordination Polymer for Rapid and Selective Removal of Pb²⁺ from Water

Taheri, Nazanin  
•
Schertenleib, Till  
•
Felder, Timo M. O.  
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October 27, 2025

Coordination polymers (CPs) often suffer from poor hydrolytic and chemical stability, limiting their use in water remediation. We report a highly robust, amorphous coordination polymer synthesized from Zr⁴⁺ and bio-available phytic acid, featuring stable Zr–O–P bonds that resist degradation even in 10 M HCl and HNO₃. The material forms a micro-mesoporous network under mild conditions in water and consists of mononuclear ZrO₆ units bridged by phosphate groups. Zr-Phytate exhibits excellent Pb²⁺ removal performance, maintaining high efficiency even in the presence of excess competing ions. Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis and solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy provide insight into the coordination environment of the Zr-phosphate centers and the mechanism of lead complexation. The exceptional chemical durability of Zr-Phytate allows efficient regeneration using 1 M HCl, with no detectable leaching of Zr or phytic acid and no loss of structural integrity over multiple cycles. Compared to commercial ion-exchange resins, Zr-Phytate offers superior selectivity and reusability. This work demonstrates the importance of designing stable coordination polymers and highlights the promise of zirconium-phosphate networks for applications in water remediation.

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Type
working paper
DOI
10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-t52tx
Author(s)
Taheri, Nazanin  

EPFL

Schertenleib, Till  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Felder, Timo M. O.  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Piveteau, Laura  

EPFL

Mouriño, Beatriz  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Smit, Berend  

EPFL

Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja  

EPFL

Queen, Wendy L.  

EPFL

Date Issued

2025-10-27

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Subjects

Water treatment

•

Heavy metal removal

•

Porous coordination polymer

•

Adsorption

•

Lead removal

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LFIM  
ISIC-NMRP  
LSMO  
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FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

Swiss National Science Foundation

Enhanced combination of synchrotron diffraction and spectroscopy for studying materials and processes focussed on sustainable technologies and environmental issues

189629

https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/189629

Swiss National Science Foundation

Creating functional porosity for the rapid extraction of heavy metals and organics from complex aqueous mixtures

188536

https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/188536
Available on Infoscience
October 31, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/255454
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