I am happy to share that our latest paper titled The role of hydration in the removal of glyphosate (GLY) and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) by nanofiltration membranes has been accepted for publication in Nature Communications journal (2025 IF of 15.7). This acceptance followed an excruciatingly long peer review and copy-editing process.
What the paper is about
We examined how hydration governed the nanofiltration of small and charged pesticide micropollutants – glyphosate, the most widely used pesticide, and its metabolite AMPA.
To isolate the removal associated with the shredding of the water shells (dielectric exclusion), six nanofiltration membranes with varying surface chemistry and molecular weight cut-off were examined under different operating conditions.
At low pH, the pesticides have close to neutral charge and charge (Donnan) exclusion is minimised. We observed clear evidence that the strongly bound water molecules hindered the pesticide’s movement through the membrane.
The strength of the water shells at varying pH was further characterised by collaborators who are experts in infra-red spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.
Our results underscore the importance of hydration in the removal of micropollutants and offer insights for enhancing nanofiltration membranes.