Fabrication of Polyethyleneimine-Functionalized Magnetic Cellulose Nanocrystals for the Adsorption of Diclofenac Sodium from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

Diclofenac sodium (DS), one of the most used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs worldwide, is often detected in wastewater and natural water. This drug is ecotoxic, even at low concentrations. Therefore, it is essential to fabricate low-cost adsorbents that can easily and effectively remove DS from contaminated water bodies. In this study, a polyethyleneimine (PEI)-modified magnetic cellulose nanocrystal (MCNC) was prepared with a silane coupling agent as a bridge. TEM, FTIR, XRD, and VSM were used to demonstrate the successful preparation of MCNC-PEI. This composite adsorbent exhibited efficient DS removal. Furthermore, the adsorption performance of MCNC-PEI on DS was optimal under mildly acidic conditions (pH = 4.5). Adsorption kinetics showed that the adsorption process involves mainly electrostatic interactions. Moreover, the maximum adsorption capacity reached 299.93 mg/g at 25 °C, and the adsorption capacity only decreased by 9.9% after being reused five times. Considering its low cost, low toxicity, and high DS removal capacity, MCNC-PEI could be a promising adsorbent for treating DS-contaminated water.

Progress and Prospects of Nanocellulose-Based Membranes for Desalination and Water Treatment

“…[ 48 ] The possibility of converting cellulose into nanoscale materials using various methods has opened up a new arena to investigate the properties and possible applications in wastewater treatment [ 49 ]. The nanocelluloses are chosen over micro-sized materials for successful desalination, adsorption, and pollutant removal due to their high surface area, nano dimensions, good strength, and non-toxic nature [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. The wastewater might be hypersaline and also include metals, organic wastes, emulsions, organic and inorganic dyes, and even harmful microorganisms.…”

Characterization of magnetic bio-nanocomposites of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) coated on paper surface

“…Magnetic composites of cellulose have created new definitions of smart and environmentally friendly materials (Chen et al 2020). Many researchers have studied the nature, different synthesis methods, applications, and characteristics of magnetic cellulose materials including recyclable medical catalysts (Xiong et al 2013), magnetic-optical transparent films (Li et al 2013), the magnetic absorption of oil (Chin et al 2014), functional composites of cellulose (Liu et al 2011;Wu et al 2011), magnetic aerogels, the purification of water and oil recovery (Olsson et al 2010;Rashid et al 2017), security adhesives on paper (Fragouli et al 2012), drug delivery (Kaco et al 2017;Zhu et al 2022), storage of information, security cards and electro-magnetic shielding (Marchessault et al 1992;Mashkour et al 2011). The bionanocomposites of NCC and nanomagnetite (NM) have been evaluated by many researchers for different applications (Anirudhan and Rejeena 2013;Nypelö et al 2014;Cao et al 2015;Liu et al 2015;Zhou et al 2015;Ren et al 2017;Zhu et al 2022).…”