Composite Hydrogels Based on Poly(Ethylene Glycol) and Cellulose Macromonomers as Fortified Materials for Environmental Cleanup and Clean Water Safeguarding

Pollution with organic dyes is one of the most typical environmental problems related to industrial wastewater. The removal of these dyes opens up new prospects for environmental remediation, but the design of sustainable and inexpensive systems for water purification is a fundamental challenge. This paper reports the synthesis of novel fortified hydrogels that can bind and remove organic dyes from aqueous solutions. These hydrophilic conetworks consist of chemically modified poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-m) and multifunctional cellulose macromonomers ("cellu-mers"). Williamson etherification with 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (4-VBC) is used to modify PEGs of different molecular masses (1, 5, 6, and 10 kDa) and cellobiose, Sigmacell, or Technocell (TM) T-90 cellulose (products derived from natural renewable resources) with polymerizable/crosslinkable moieties. The networks are formed with good (75%) to excellent (96%) yields. They show good swelling and have good mechanical properties according to rheological tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that cellulose fibers are visibly embedded into the inner hydrogel structure. The ability to bind and remove organic dyes, such as bromophenol blue (BPB), methylene blue (MB), and crystal violet (CV), from aqueous solutions hints at the potential of the new cellulosic hydrogels for environmental cleanup and clean water safeguarding.