pH responsive graft copolymers of chitosan.

Grafting suitable polymers onto chitosan can produce cationic or polyampholyte polymers or hydrogels that are potential smart biomedical materials. Chitosan-graft-[poly(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] has been prepared in three different physical forms as linear free chains in solution, chemical gels crosslinked with glutaraldehyde, and poly(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] grafted onto chitosan tripolyphosphate gel beads. In addition to chemical structure, the graft copolymers were characterized with respect to their dissolution and swelling behavior in aqueous solution. It has been established that solubility of the products is controlled by the grafting yield. While pH sensitive polymers, which collapse at a given pH value are obtained at lower grafting yields, hydrogels form at higher grafting yields with pH responsive swelling behavior. Glutaraldehyde crosslinked chitosan-graft-[poly(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] gels and chitosan tripolyphosphate gel beads grafted with poly[(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] exhibit pH sensitive swelling with highest equilibrium swelling capacity at pH=1.2.

Efficient removal of lead (II) ions and methylene blue from aqueous solution using chitosan/Fe-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite beads.

Chitosan is a well-known sorbent and effective in the uptake of anionic or reactive dyes, but it has deficiency in adsorption of basic dyes. In this work, chitosan/Fe-substituted hydroxyapatite composite beads were prepared in a different ratio via embedding of hydroxyapatite into chitosan solution for removal of basic dye and heavy metal from aqueous solution. The composite beads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy in order to reveal their composition and surface morphology. In this particular study, methylene blue (MB) and lead (Pb (II)) ions were selected as representatives of dye and a heavy metal, respectively. The various experimental conditions affecting dye adsorption were explored to achieve maximum adsorption capacity. Moreover, the kinetic, thermodynamic and adsorption isotherm models were employed for the description of the heavy metal and dye adsorption processes. The results indicated that the prepared hydrogel is an efficient adsorbent for the aforementioned dye and metal concomitant with the ability of regeneration without losing the original activity and stability for water treatment applications.