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Cellulose and chitin nanomaterials for capturing silver ions (Ag+) from water via surface adsorption

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Abstract

The study explores the potential of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and chitin nanocrystals (ChNC) isolated from bioresidues to remove silver ions from contaminated water. Zeta sizer studies showed negatively charged surfaces for CNC and CNF isolated from cellulose sludge in the acidic and alkaline pHs, whereas ChNC isolated from crab shell residue showed either positive or negative charges depending on pH conditions. Model water containing silver ions showed a decrease in Ag+ ion concentration (measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry), after treatment with CNC, CNF and ChNC suspensions. The highest Ag+ ion removal was measured near neutral pH for CNC, being 34.4 mg/g, corresponding to 64 % removal. ChNC showed 37 % and CNF showed 27 % removal of silver ions. The WDX (wavelength dispersive X-ray analysis) and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis confirmed the presence of silver ions on the surface of the nanocellulose and nanochitin after adsorption. Surface adsorption on the nanoparticles via electrostatic interactions is considered to be the prominent mechanism of heavy metal ion capture from aqueous medium, with CNC with negative surface charge and negatively charged functional groups being most favourable for the adsorption of positively charged Ag+ ions compared to other native bionanomaterials.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the European Commission, under the NanoSelect Project, EU FP7-NMP4-SL-2012-280519. We thank Mattias Grahn, Luleå University of Technology, for support with zeta potential studies and helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Materials Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187, Luleå, Sweden

    Peng Liu, Kristiina Oksman & Aji P. Mathew

  2. Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Ueberlandstrasse. 129, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Houssine Sehaqui, Philippe Tingaut & Adrian Wichser

Authors
  1. Peng Liu
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  2. Houssine Sehaqui
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  3. Philippe Tingaut
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  4. Adrian Wichser
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  5. Kristiina Oksman
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  6. Aji P. Mathew
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Correspondence to Aji P. Mathew.

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Liu, P., Sehaqui, H., Tingaut, P. et al. Cellulose and chitin nanomaterials for capturing silver ions (Ag+) from water via surface adsorption. Cellulose 21, 449–461 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-013-0139-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-013-0139-5

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