Adsorption of Metallic Ions on Amidoxime-Chitosan/Cellulose Hydrogels

Adsorption using natural compounds is an attractive separation technique for recovering heavy metals from aqueous media. Although chitosan, which is a natural polysaccharide, is an environmentally benign adsorbent, it dissolves in an acidic aqueous medium. In this study, we prepared adsorbents consisting of chitosan modified with amidoxime groups for improving metal adsorptivity, and cellulose for improving gel stability using an ionic liquid, and examined their adsorption characteristics for metal ions. The prepared amidoxime-chitosan/cellulose hydrogels had a mechanical strength without cross-linking. All the investigated metals were adsorbed on the amidoxime-chitosan/cellulose hydrogels in the following adsorptivity order: Cu & AP; Ag > Ni > Zn. The adsorptivity of the metal ions increased with pH due to a proton exchange reaction. From the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, the Langmuir constant for Cu exceeded those of other metals because amidoxime has higher Cu affinity. The pseudo-second-order reaction model best described the adsorption kinetics with metal chelate formation being the rate-determining step. Because amidoxime-chitosan/cellulose hydrogels had higher physical stability and higher Cu selectivity, they were found to be a promising, environmentally benign adsorbent.