Aerogels from quaternary ammonium-functionalized cellulose nanofibers for rapid removal of Cr(VI) from water

Xu He; Long Cheng; Yaru Wang; Jiangqi Zhao; Wei Zhang; Canhui Lu

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.05.020

Aerogels from quaternary ammonium-functionalized cellulose nanofibers for rapid removal of Cr(VI) from water

Carbohydr Polym. 2014 Oct 13:111:683-7. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.05.020. Epub 2014 May 24.

Authors

Xu He¹, Long Cheng¹, Yaru Wang¹, Jiangqi Zhao¹, Wei Zhang², Canhui Lu³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China. Electronic address: weizhang@scu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China. Electronic address: canhuilu@263.net.

PMID: 25037403
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.05.020

Abstract

An efficient heavy metal adsorbent from quaternary ammonium-functionalized cellulose nanofiber aerogels was successfully developed. The highly porous aerogel could well retain its large specific surface area, which allowed rapid and effective removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated water. The aerogel adsorbent became mechanically robust after chemical crosslinking. It could be easily separated from water after adsorption without complicated centrifugation or filtration process. With only 1g of aerogel, more than 99% of Cr(VI) in 1L of 1mg/L solution could be removed in 50 min. Besides, the aerogel also exhibited excellent reusability.

Keywords: Adsorption; Aerogel; Cellulose nanofibers; Heavy metal pollution; Water treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't