Two all-biomass cellulose/amino acid spherical nanoadsorbents based on a tri-aldehyde spherical nanocellulose II amino acid premodification platform for the efficient removal of Cr(VI) and Cu(II).

Adsorbents consisting of spherical nanoparticles exhibit superior adsorption performance and hence, have immense potential for various applications. In this study, a tri-aldehyde spherical nanoadsorbent premodification platform (CTNAP), which can be grafted with various amino acids, was synthesized from corn stalk. Subsequently, two all-biomass spherical nanoadsorbents, namely, cellulose/l-lysine (CTNAP-Lys) and cellulose/L-cysteine (CTNAP-Cys), were prepared. The morphologies as well as chemical and crystal structures of the two adsorbents were studied in detail. Notably, the synthesized adsorbents exhibited two important characteristics, namely, a spherical nanoparticle morphology and cellulose II crystal structure, which significantly enhanced their adsorption performance. The mechanism of the adsorption of Cr(VI) onto CTNAP-Lys and that of Cu(II) onto CTNAP-Cys were studied in detail, and the adsorption capacities were determined to be as high as 361.69 (Cr(VI)) and 252.38 mg/g (Cu(II)). Using the proposed strategy, it should be possible to prepare other all-biomass cellulose/amino acid spherical nanomaterials with high functional group density for adsorption, medical, catalytic, analytical chemistry, corrosion, and photochromic applications.

Synthesis of cellulose II-based spherical nanoparticle microcluster adsorbent for removal of toxic hexavalent chromium.

Since natural cellulose is mostly cellulose I and has a fibrous form, most cellulose-based adsorbents are fibrous/rod-shaped and exhibit the cellulose I crystal structure. This study reports a cellulose II-based spherical nanoparticle microcluster adsorbent (SNMA), synthesized from biomass by a bottom-up approach, for removing toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). The basic structure of SNMA was investigated. Notably, the prepared adsorbent was a microcluster composed of spherical nanoparticles, while exhibiting cellulose II crystal structure, resulting in higher thermal stability and significantly enhanced adsorption performance. The adsorption process and mechanism of SNMA on Cr(VI) were studied in detail. The SNMA achieved a high adsorption capacity (225.94 mg/g) and receptor site density. The SNMA is expected to be used as a bio-based spherical nanoparticle microcluster adsorbent platform for the adsorption of different toxic substances by changing the surface functional groups of its components, spherical nanoparticles.