A novel tetraethylenepentamine crosslinked chitosan oligosaccharide hydrogel for total adsorption of Cr(VI)

Abstract A kind of water-soluble chitosan, chitosan oligosaccharide, was used to synthesize a crosslinking hydrogel using a simple method, and the outstanding adsorption property of the hydrogel for Cr(VI) was investigated. The three-dimensional structure of the synthetic material was analyzed by means of 13C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) measurements. The hydrogel also exhibited high thermal stability and mechanical strength. Its adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) reached 148.1±2.4 mg/g with a fast adsorption rate. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm well described the adsorption process. Notably, the hydrogel still showed 100% removal efficiency for Cr(VI) at low concentration (0.02-1 mg/L) in the detectable range. The simple preparation process, high mechanical strength and excellent adsorption property indicate that the hydrogel has great potential for the removal of Cr(VI) ions from water and wastewater.