Modified uncrosslinked and crosslinked chitosan derivatives
were
investigated as green sorbents for the removal of copper (Cu
2+
) and lead (Pb
2+
) cations from simulated solutions. In
this regard, N, O carboxymethyl chitosan (N, O CMC), chitosan beads
(Cs-g-GA), chitosan crosslinked with glutaraldehyde/methylene bisacrylamide
(Cs/GA/MBA), and chitosan crosslinked with GA/epichlorohydrin (Cs/GA/ECH)
were prepared and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,
X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron
microscopy analyses. Atomic force microscopy investigation was carried
out to compare the surface topography of the prepared samples before
and after the metal uptake. The kinetics of the removal process were
investigated by pseudo-first-order and -second-order models. Moreover,
the adsorption isotherms were carefully studied by applying Langmuir
and Freundlich models. The data reveal that upon adsorption of copper(II)
metal ions, all chitosan-modified products followed the Langmuir isotherm
except for Cs/GA/ECH which followed the Freundlich isotherms, and
the highest adsorption capacity (
q
e
) was
obtained for Cs/GA/MBA due to the formation of stable chelate structures
between the metal cation and the functional groups present on the
modified chitosan product. The order of metal uptake at the optimum
pH value is as follows: Cs/GA/MBA (Cu: 95.7 mg/g, Pb: 99.15 mg/g),
Cs/GA/ECH (Cu: 80.4 mg/g, Pb: 93.14 mg/g), Cs-g-GA (Cu: 77 mg/g, Pb:
88.4 mg/g), and N, O CMCh (Cu: 30.2 mg/g, Pb: 44.8 mg/g). The AFM
data confirmed the metal uptake process by comparing the roughness
and height measurements of the free sorbents and the metal-loaded
sorbents.