Chitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel with crosslinked polymeric networks for Ni2+ recovery

In this study, chitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid) (CTS-g-PAA) hydrogel with crosslinked polymeric networks was prepared from an aqueous dispersion polymerization and then used as the adsorbent to recover a valuable metal, Ni2+. The adsorption capacity of CTS-g-PAA for Ni2+ was evaluated and the adsorption kinetics was investigated using Voigt-based model and pseudo-second-order model. In addition, the effects of pH values and coexisting heavy metal ions such as Cu2+ and Pb2+ on the adsorption capacity were studied. The results indicate that the as-prepared adsorbent has faster adsorption rate and higher adsorption capacity for Ni2+ recovery, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 161.80 mg g−1. In a wide pH range of 3–7, the adsorption capacity keeps almost the same, and even under competitive conditions, the adsorption capacity of CTS-g-PAA for Ni2+ is observed to be as high as 54.47 mg g−1. Finally, the adsorption performance of CTS-g-PAA for Ni2+ in real water sample and the reusability of the as-prepared adsorbent were evaluated, and also the controlled adsorption mechanism was proposed.