Construction of highly robust amino orange peel cellulose for Cu²⁺ adsorption study

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a kind of cellulose aerogel (HRCNFs) with high mechanical robustness and durability was prepared by using orange peel cellulose and polyethylenimine, and it was used for high-efficiency adsorption of Cu (II). Fourier analysed the structure and morphology of HRCNFs transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the pore structure characteristics of the materials were evaluated by BET. The adsorption capacity of HRCNFs as adsorbent to remove Cu (II) ions from aqueous solution was further studied. The maximum adsorption capacity was 167.21 mg/g. Adsorption is mainly a single-layer chemisorption process. Based on FTIR and BET analysis, the adsorption mechanism is the strong surface complexation of amino, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups with Cu (II). Through many cycles, HRCNFs retain their integrity and high mechanical robustness. Therefore, the synthesised HRCNFs material can be considered a promising adsorbent for the removal of Cu (II) ions from polluted water bodies.

KEYWORDS:

• Cellulose
• aerogel
• adsorption
• Cu (II)
• high robustness

Acknowledgments

We are sincerely grateful to the reviewers and the editor for their useful comments that have helped us to improve the quality of our study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Date availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Outstanding Young and Middleaged Scientific and Technological Innovation Team Plan in Hubei Province [numberT2020002]; Science and Technology Research Project of Education Department of Hubei Province [number B2022013].