Fabrication of Core-Shell Hydrogel Bead Based on Sodium Alginate and Chitosan for Methylene Blue Adsorption

Abstract

A novel core-shell hydrogel bead was fabricated for effective removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions. The core, made of sodium alginate-g-polyacrylamide and attapulgite nanofibers, was cross-linked by Calcium ions (Ca 2+ ). The shell, composed of a chitosan/activated carbon mixture, was then coated onto the core. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the grafting polymerization of acrylamide onto sodium alginate. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the core-shell structure. The core exhibited a high water uptake ratio, facilitating the diffusion of methylene blue into the core. During the diffusion process, the methylene blue was first adsorbed by the shell and then further adsorbed by the core. Adsorption tests showed that the coreshell structure had a larger adsorption capacity than the core alone. The shell effectively enhanced the adsorption capacity to methylene blue compared to the single core. Methylene blue was adsorbed by activated carbon and chitosan in the shell, and the residual methylene blue diffused into the core and was further adsorbed. KEYWORDSCore-shell structure hydrogel bead; attapulgite nanofiber; sodium alginate; polyacrylamide; methylene blue; adsorption materialResearch has focused on natural macromolecules such as cellulose, starch, chitin, and sodium alginate for their non-toxic, water-absorbing, biodegradable, and cost-effective properties in dye adsorption applications [3][4][5]. The core-shell structure of hydrogel beads, with distinct structures and properties in both the core and shell, has been studied for its versatility in applications like drug delivery, adsorption, and environmental cleanup [6,7].In drug delivery, sodium alginate is frequently used as a core or shell material due to its gelling ability with multivalent ions. Zhu reported a microsphere with a sodium alginate core incorporated with This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.