Abstract
Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) is a typical harmful pollutant, which is carcinogenic or mutagenic to aquatic animals and humans. In this study, sepiolite/humic acid/polyvinyl alcohol@ polyaniline (SC/HA/PVA@PANI) composite porous hydrogel adsorbent was synthesized by Pickering emulsion template in situ chemical oxidative polymerization for adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. The in situ polymerization of aniline at the Pickering emulsion interface and the unique three-dimensional network structure of the hydrogel act as an effective “confinement” for the growth of the polymer. The porous structure of the material acts as a water channel, which effectively accelerates the binding of the adsorbate to the adsorption sites, and significantly improves the adsorption rate and adsorption capacity. The adsorption capacity of PANI for Cr(VI) confined in three-dimensional network of composite porous SC/HA/PVA@PANI hydrogel reached 1180.97 mg/g-PANI, which increased about 27-fold compared the adsorption capacity of pure PANI (43.48 mg/g). It is shown that the experimental design effectively avoids the agglomeration of PANI and improves its potential adsorption performance. In addition, the analysis of FESEM-EDX, FT-IR, and XPS spectra before and after adsorption confirmed that the main adsorption mechanisms of Cr(VI) on SC/HA/PVA@PANI included ion exchange, electrostatic attraction, and redox reaction. In conclusion, SC/HA/PVA@PANI has good stability and excellent adsorption performance, which is a new type of Cr(VI) ion adsorbent with great potential.
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Data Availability
The dataset produced and processed during this research is available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.
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Funding
This work was supported by the preparation of lignite humic acid-based magnetic composite microspheres and their adsorption properties for heavy metal ions, National Natural Science Foundation of China (21576001), and the National College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (202110360041).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design.
Xuejiao Zhang: process the data and write the manuscript
Yulin Li, Wenjie Zou, Li Ding: work together to complete material preparation, data collection and analysis
Jun Chen: directed, revised, and supplemented the manuscript
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Highlights
• A novel porous hydrogel adsorbent SC/HA/PVA@PANI was prepared for Cr(VI) removal.
• The in situ polymerization of aniline on the Pickering emulsion interface and the “confinement” effect of the hydrogel’s unique three-dimensional network structure on the polymer can effectively avoid the agglomeration of polyaniline and exert its potential adsorption efficiency.
• The porous structure of the material acts as a water channel, which effectively accelerates the combination of the adsorbate and adsorption site to improve the adsorption rate and capacity.
• The adsorption mechanism of Cr(VI) mainly includes electrostatic action, chemical reduction, and ion exchange.
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Zhang, X., Li, Y., Zou, W. et al. Sorption enhancement of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution by polyaniline confined in three-dimensional network of composite porous hydrogel. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 92404–92416 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28948-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28948-1