Novel cationic polymer modified magnetic chitosan beads for efficient adsorption of heavy metals and dyes over a wide pH range

Int J Biol Macromol. 2020 Aug 1:156:289-301. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.04.020. Epub 2020 Apr 11.

Abstract

Wastewater containing highly toxic and non-biodegradable heavy metals and organic dyes poses a serious threat to ecological environment and human health. Adsorption has been regarded as a promising technology to purify this kind of wastewater. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop efficient adsorbents. Herein, a magnetically recyclable adsorbent Fe3O4-CS/PDAC was facilely fabricated by coating poly(acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride)-modified chitosan on the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The morphology, physical-chemical and magnetic properties of as-prepared Fe3O4-CS/PDAC was fully characterized by various techniques. Its adsorption behaviors towards heavy metal Cr(VI) and organic dye sunset yellow (SY) were systematically investigated. Evidently, Fe3O4-CS/PDAC exhibited adsorption capacities of 163.93 and 769.23 mg/g for Cr(VI) and SY respectively, much higher than other reported adsorbents. Besides, batch experiment results showed that adsorption capacities decreased slightly with pH increasing from 2.0 to 10.0. Furthermore, Fe3O4-CS/PDAC could be easily separated and effectively regenerated after adsorption. The superior adsorption performance of Fe3O4-CS/PDAC could be attributed to the electrostatic interaction and ion exchange between target pollutants and the grafted cationic polymer. Owing to its high adsorption capacity over a wide pH range, rapid separation, easy regeneration and good reusability, Fe3O4-CS/PDAC has great potential for practical application in water treatment.

Keywords: Adsorption; Anionic dyes; Hexavalent chromium; Magnetic chitosan beads; Wide pH range.

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Cations / chemistry*
  • Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic
  • Chitosan / chemistry*
  • Ferrosoferric Oxide / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration*
  • Kinetics
  • Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles / ultrastructure
  • Metals, Heavy / chemistry*
  • Models, Chemical
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Thermodynamics
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry
  • Water Purification

Substances

  • Cations
  • Metals, Heavy
  • Polymers
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Chitosan
  • Ferrosoferric Oxide