Application of Crosslinked Ionic Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Nanogel as Adsorbents for Water Treatment

Core-shell smart ionic nanogels based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) core and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide/acrylic acid) p(NIPAm-AAc) shell particles were successfully synthesized through a one-step surfactant-free emulsion polymerization method (SFEP). Different mole ratios of p(NIPAm-AAc) shells were synthesized. The morphologies of PVA/p(NIPAm-AAc) nanogels were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The data showed the formation of spherical nanoparticles and well-defined core-shell nanogels. PVA/p(NIPAm-AAc) core-shell nanogels were applied as a novel polymeric adsorbent to remove heavy metal pollutants from aqueous solution. Copper(II) (Cu²⁺) ions were selected as the target pollutant to evaluate these nanoparticles’ adsorption capability. The influence of the uptake conditions such as pH, weight ratio of nanoparticles, time, initial feed concentration, and adsorption temperature on the metal ion binding capacity of nanogels was also tested. Adsorption equilibrium data were calculated according to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. It was found that the sorption of Cu²⁺ was better suited to the Freundlich adsorption model than the Langmuir adsorption model. Also, the selectivity of the nanogels toward the different metal ions such lead (Pb²⁺) and cadmium (Cd²⁺) were tested. The maximum of Cu²⁺ ions adsorbed on to PVA/p(NIPAm-AAc) core-shell nanogels adsorbent was 94 mg/g obtained under simple and fast experimental conditions, indicating these nanogels can be used as effective and practical polymeric adsorbents.     

Efficient Sorption of Basic Organic Dyes from Aqueous Solution Using Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Beads

In this article, the potential of alginate stabilized silver nanoparticles beads for efficient sorption of methylene blue, malachite green, and rhodamine B from aqueous solutions was investigated. The adsorption data have been correlated with both Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models. The kinetic studies for dyes adsorption showed rapid sorption dynamics by second-order kinetic model. The common problem of classical adsorbents towards efficient recyclability was overcome when alginate stabilized silver nanoparticles beads was used. The alginate stabilized silver nanoparticles beads were successfully recycled for 25 successive adsorption-desorption cycles indicating its high reusability.     

Fabrication of SPR Nanosensor Using Gold Nanoparticles and Self-Assembled Monolayer Technique for Detection of Cu2+ in an Aqueous Solution

In this work, we investigated the fabrication of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) nanosensor using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) chemisorbed onto self assembled monolayer of 10-(3-amino phenoxy) decane-1-thiol on gold substrate. The fabrication process of SPR nanosensor was characterized using different techniques such as infrared reflection-absorption spectra (IRRAS), xX-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscope (AFM). The fabricated SPR nanosensor was used for detection of Cu²⁺ in an aqueous solution using surface plasmon resonance refractometer. The results confirm the fabrication of new SPR nanosensor. The fabricated SPR nanosensor showed a good activity toward the detection of Cu²⁺. The detection of Cu²⁺ in an aqueous solution using the fabricated SPR nansensor was enhanced in the presence of gold nanoparticles.     

Preparation of Activated Carbon From Olive Stone Waste: Optimization Study on the Removal of Cu2+, Cd2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, Fe2+, and Zn2+ from Aqueous Solution Using Response Surface Methodology

The removal efficiencies of Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Zn²⁺ from aqueous solution with olive stone activated carbon (OSAC) were investigated in this paper. Central composite design method was used to optimize the preparation of OSAC by chemical activation using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as chemical agent. The optimum conditions obtained were 715°C activation temperature, 2 hours activation time, and 1.53 impregnation ratio. This resulted in removal of 99.25% Cu²⁺, 94.98% Cd²⁺, 99.08% Ni²⁺, 99.33% Pb²⁺, 99.41% Fe²⁺, and 99.17% Zn²⁺, as well as 73.94% OSAC yield. The surface characteristics of the activated carbon (AC) prepared under optimized condition were examined by pore structure analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, total pore volume, and average pore diameter of the prepared activated carbon were 886.72 m²/g, 0.507 cm³/g, and 4.22 nm, respectively. The equilibrium data of the adsorption was well fitted to the Langmuir and the highest value of adsorption capacity (Q) on the OSAC was found for Fe²⁺ (57.47 mg/g), followed by Pb²⁺ (22.37 mg/g), Cu²⁺ (17.83 mg/g), Zn²⁺ (11.14 mg/g), Ni²⁺ (8.42 mg/g), and Cd²⁺ (7.80 mg/g). The prepared OSAC can be used for efficient removal of metals from contaminated wastewater.     

Adsorption Properties of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution onto Thermal Modified Rectorite

The thermal modified rectorite (TR) was prepared and characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The structure of TR was destroyed gradually with increasing the calcination temperature, and the adsorption capacity for methylene blue (MB) of the rectorite can be improved by thermal modification in appropriate temperature ranges. The equilibrium data were well described by the Langmuir model. The kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption process was fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic studies indicated that adsorption of MB was endothermic in nature and favorable with the positive ΔH ⁰ value of 25.90 kJ/mol.     

Comparative study on interaction between copper (II) and chitin/chitosan by density functional calculation

The DMol³ calculations, based on density functional theory (DFT), have been employed to investigate the interactions between Cu²⁺ and chitin/chitosan residues. The possible initial conformations were optimized at the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) level, with spin unrestricted approach, symmetric unrestriction, doublet multiplicity and BLYP/DND methods. For all initial complexes considered, the Cu²⁺ was completed with H₂O and/or OH⁻ groups to neutralize the initial complexes with hexacoordination geometries. The tendency of ligands to coordinate with Cu²⁺ is NH₂ > C₃OH > H₂O > NHCOCH₃, suggesting that amine groups (NH₂) on chitosan prefer to bind Cu²⁺ and acetamide groups (NHCOCH₃) on chitin lose their coordination with Cu²⁺ in aqueous solution. The geometries of bridge and pendant models have been comparatively analyzed. The results show that bridge model is more favorable than pendant model. In terms of the optimized geometries, the initial hexacoordination structures of Cu²⁺ designed seem more reasonable than initial tetracoordination ones designed.