Coordination Polymer Packaging Approach for Simplifying the Isolation and Recovery of Dissolved Organic Matter from Water

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Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the most abundant carbon substance in the hydrosphere, and its participation in the global carbon cycle makes it crucial for global warming issues. The isolation and recovery of DOM, however, remain formidable challenges. Herein, we report a simple yet efficient coordination polymer packaging (CPP) strategy for DOM isolation and recovery in water samples. This method relies on a DOM-triggered coordination polymer deposition principle, akin to natural biomineralization, transforming hard-to-separate DOM to undissolving precipitate within 1 min. The DOM-encased coordination polymer is acid-sensitive, facilitating the DOM recovery by simply acidifying the solution to pH 6. This CPP approach achieves ∼90% isolation and ∼80% recovery efficiency across a wide range of DOM concentrations and exhibits excellent stability under diverse environmental conditions, with an estimated cost of $4.1 per gram of DOM isolated per ton of water, which is 3 orders of magnitude cheaper than existing methods. The feasibility of the CPP approach was demonstrated with real water samples, including surface water, wastewater, and landfill leachate. We believe this straightforward, facile, time-saving, and cost-effective approach holds significant potential to refine the hydrospheric carbon recycle by simplifying DOM management and thereby contributing to mitigating the adverse global climate changes.