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Removal of copper ions by cellulose nanocrystal-based hydrogel and reduced adsorbents for its catalytic properties

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Abstract

Removal of copper ions (Cu(II)) efficiently from water is crucial for water environment security. We use sustainable, low-cost, renewable cellulose derivatives (carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na)) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the matrix, and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as the functional addition. The CNC/CMC-Na/PVA hydrogel was prepared by the physical cross-linking method. Static adsorption experiments proved that CNC/CMC-Na/PVA hydrogel has a greater adsorption potential (108 mg/g) towards Cu(II). At the same time, the adsorption of Cu(II) on CNC/CMC-Na/PVA hydrogels is spontaneous and endothermic, and obeys the pseudo-second-order model with intra-particle diffusion. Furthermore, the primary adsorption mechanisms had been electrostatic attraction and surface complexation. Importantly, CNC/CMC-Na/PVA hydrogel has efficient absorbability and preferable reusability in actual water samples. Furthermore, the copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) adsorbed on the surface of CNC/CMC-Na/PVA hydrogels were reduced with NaBH4 in situ to realize the secondary utilization in CNC/CMC-Na/PVA hydrogels supported by Cu NPs. It is found that the material can be used as a catalyst to efficiently catalyze the conversion of HMF to BHMF (99%). Consequently, we provide insights into the hydrogel preparation that would possibly be promising novel adsorbents for the elimination of heavy-ion from sustainable water purification.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21676223, 21978248), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (No.2019J06005) and the special fund for Fujian Ocean High-Tech Industry Development (No. FJHJF-L-2018-1), China.

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Author notes

  1. Huiqiang Wang and Shengqiong Fang have contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiang’an Campus of Xiamen University, Xiang’an South Road, Xiang’an District, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China

    Huiqiang Wang, Zheng Li, Xin Yu, Xing Tang, Yong Sun, Shuliang Yang, Xianhai Zeng & Lu Lin

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, Fujian, People’s Republic of China

    Shengqiong Fang

  3. Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Clean and High-valued Technologies for Biomass, Xiamen, People’s Republic of China

    Zheng Li, Xing Tang, Yong Sun, Shuliang Yang, Xianhai Zeng & Lu Lin

  4. Xiamen Key Laboratory of High-valued Utilization of Biomass, Xiamen University, Xiang’an Campus of Xiamen University, Xiang’an South Road, Xiang’an District, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, People’s Republic of China

    Zheng Li, Xing Tang, Yong Sun, Shuliang Yang, Xianhai Zeng & Lu Lin

  5. College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, 071001, People’s Republic of China

    Miao Zuo

Authors
  1. Huiqiang Wang
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  2. Shengqiong Fang
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  3. Miao Zuo
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  4. Zheng Li
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  5. Xin Yu
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  7. Yong Sun
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  9. Xianhai Zeng
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  10. Lu Lin
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Correspondence to Xianhai Zeng or Lu Lin.

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Wang, H., Fang, S., Zuo, M. et al. Removal of copper ions by cellulose nanocrystal-based hydrogel and reduced adsorbents for its catalytic properties. Cellulose 29, 4525–4537 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04547-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04547-0

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