Composite hydrogels were prepared that consisted of quasi-colloidal layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles and agarose via the electrophoretic method, starting from three different agarose concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 2 wt/v%. The composite hydrogel was identified to have a uniform distribution of LDH nanoparticles in agarose matrix. Microscopic studies revealed that the composite hydrogel had a homogeneous quasi-colloidal state of LDHs, while the simple mixture of LDH powder and agarose hydrogels did not. It was determined that agarose concentration of the starting hydrogel did not significantly influence the amount of LDH that developed in the composite. The chromate scavenging efficiency of the composite hydrogel and corresponding agarose or mixture hydrogel was evaluated with respect to time, and chromate concentration. In general, the composite hydrogels exhibited much higher chromate removal efficacy compared with agarose or mixture hydrogels. Through estimating chromate adsorption by LDH moiety in the composite or mixture hydrogel, it was suggested that the agarose component facilitated the stability and dispersibility of the quasi-colloidal state of LDH nanoparticles in the composite resulting in high adsorption efficacy. From Freundlich isotherm adsorption fitting, composites were determined to possess beneficial cooperative adsorption behavior with a high adsorption coefficient.
Keywords: Freundlich adsorption; agarose; chromate removal; electrophoretic method; hydrogel; layered double hydroxide; quasi-colloidal nanoparticle.