2025.07.04《 Intrinsic nanoconfinement in tubular clay induces high affinity of zirconium phosphate for the efficient removal of heavy metal ions 》
长期以来，纳米限域效应在吸附与催化领域被频繁提及，人们普遍认为其能够带来更高的局域浓度、更快的传质以及更强的反应活性。然而，限域究竟如何在物理层面放大界面相互作用，这一问题往往停留在结构或性能对比层面，始终缺乏直接且可量化的实验证据。
发表在《Chemical Engineering Journal》的论文 Intrinsic nanoconfinement in tubular clay induces high affinity of zirconium phosphate for the efficient removal of heavy metal ions 从界面力学的角度给出了清晰而有力的答案。研究者构建了一种高度可控的纳米限域模型体系，将锆磷酸盐纳米晶体原位生长在天然纳米管的内部空腔中，形成典型的限域结构 ZrP@HNTs，并与非限域结构 ZrP/HNTs 进行严格对照。在化学组成完全一致的前提下，仅空间构型的差异便带来了超过三倍的 Pb(II) 吸附容量提升，并在高盐度和多竞争离子环境中表现出更高的稳定性。真正的突破并不止于性能数据，而在于首次将纳米限域效应转化为可以被直接测量的界面相互作用力问题。借助化学力显微镜，研究者在溶液环境中原位测量了磷酸基团与 Pb(II) 离子之间的力距关系，系统揭示了随着局域离子浓度升高，吸附作用距离由纳米尺度显著拉长，黏附力与黏附能持续增强的规律。实验结果结合 DLVO 理论表明，纳米限域通过压缩扩散层并增强局域富集，在力学层面放大了界面相互作用。与此同时，原位 AFM 成像直接可视化了离子在不同空间环境中的成核与早期生长行为，有限元模拟在时间与空间尺度上重构了限域空间中的传质与富集过程。该研究的意义远不止于提出一种高性能吸附材料，更重要的是为纳米限域提供了一种可以被定量、验证并推广的力学解释框架。通过将原子力显微镜引入限域吸附研究，这项工作把一个长期停留在概念层面的效应转化为能够被直接看见和测量的物理事实。
第一作者：杨蓉 ；通讯作者：胡文吉豪
For a long time, the nanoconfinement effect has been frequently mentioned in the fields of adsorption and catalysis, and it is generally believed that it can bring higher local concentration, faster mass transfer, and stronger reactivity. However, how exactly confinement amplifies interfacial interactions at the physical level has often remained at the level of structural or performance comparison, lacking direct and quantifiable experimental evidence. A recent paper published in Chemical Engineering Journal, "Intrinsic nanoconfinement in tubular clay induces high affinity of zirconium phosphate for the efficient removal of heavy metal ions," provides a clear and powerful answer from the perspective of interfacial mechanics. The researchers constructed a highly controllable nanoconfinement model system, growing zirconium phosphate nanocrystals in situ within the internal cavity of natural nanotubes to form a typical confined structure ZrP@HNTs, and rigorously compared it with the unconfined structure ZrP/HNTs. Under the premise of completely identical chemical composition, the difference in spatial configuration alone brought about a more than three-fold increase in Pb(II) adsorption capacity, and exhibited higher stability in high salinity and multi-competing ion environments. The real breakthrough lies not only in the performance data, but also in the first-ever transformation of the nanoconfinement effect into a directly measurable interfacial interaction force. Using chemical force microscopy, researchers measured the moment relationship between phosphate groups and Pb(II) ions in situ in a solution environment, systematically revealing that as the local ion concentration increases, the adsorption distance significantly lengthens at the nanoscale, and the adhesion force and adhesion energy continuously enhance. Experimental results combined with DLVO theory show that nanoconfinement amplifies interfacial interactions at the mechanical level by compressing the diffusion layer and enhancing local enrichment. Simultaneously, in-situ AFM imaging directly visualized the nucleation and early growth behavior of ions in different spatial environments, and finite element simulation reconstructed the mass transfer and enrichment processes in the confined space on both temporal and spatial scales. The significance of this research extends far beyond proposing a high-performance adsorption material; more importantly, it provides a mechanical explanation framework for nanoconfinement that can be quantitatively verified and generalized. By introducing atomic force microscopy into confined adsorption research, this work transforms an effect that has long remained at the conceptual level into a directly observable and measurable physical fact.
First Author: Rong Yang
Corresponding Author: Wenjihao Hu