Polymeric Composites with Embedded Nanocrystalline Cellulose for the Removal of Iron(II) from Contaminated Water

Abstract

The exponential increase in heavy metal usage for industrial applications has led to the limited supply of clean water for human needs. Iron is one of the examples of heavy metals, which is responsible for an unpleasant taste of water and its discoloration, and is also associated with elevated health risks if it persists in drinking water for a prolonged period of time. The adsorption of a soluble form of iron (Fe2+) from water resources is generally accomplished in the presence of natural or synthetic polymers or nanoparticles, followed by their filtration from treated water. The self-assembly of these colloidal carriers into macroarchitectures can help in achieving the facile removal of metal-chelated materials from treated water and hence can reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of the water purification process. In this study, we aim to develop a facile one-pot strategy for the synthesis of polymeric composites with embedded nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) for the chelation of iron(II) from contaminated water. The synthesis of the polymeric composites with embedded nanoparticles was achieved by the facile coating of ionic monomers on the surface of NCC, followed by their polymerization, crosslinking, and self-assembly in the form of three-dimensional architectures at room temperature. The composites prepared were analyzed for their physiochemical properties, antifouling properties, and for their iron(II)-chelation efficacies in vitro. The results indicate that the embedded-NCC polymeric composites have antifouling properties and exhibit superior iron(II)-chelation properties at both acidic and basic conditions.

Bio-Based Polymers for Engineered Green Materials

“…Cellulosic fibres were combined with various materials to enhance mechanical properties, not only in thermoplastics as polyamides, but also other bio-polymers such as polylactic acid and pectines [12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Fabrications of cellulose nanocomposite for tailor-made applications

“…NC-based smart materials, in particular, represent as an emerging application that exhibits astounding intelligent behavior in response to environmental stimuli such as light, pH, electrical input, and magnetic forces. 105 The material is favorable for many applications. Temperature-responsive cellulose, for example, demonstrated great potential in electro-stimulated targeted drug delivery systems owing to its biocompatibility and biodegradable nature.…”

Estimation of Aspect Ratio of Cellulose Nanocrystals by Viscosity Measurement: Influence of Aspect Ratio Distribution and Ionic Strength

“…Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are a rod-shaped promising nanomaterial that can be isolated from different cellulose fibers by acid hydrolysis [1,2,3,4]. Due to its biodegradability, renewability, high aspect ratio, high modulus, and negligible thermal expansion, CNC have attracted great attention from researchers and are widely used in polymer reinforcement [5,6,7,8,9], prepared for functional biomaterials in applications of tissue engineering [10,11,12], food [13,14], optical [15,16,17], and water treatment [18] among others.…”