Chitosan-based adsorbents for analytical sample preparation and removal of pollutants from aqueous media: Progress, challenges and outlook

The development of greener and more efficient materials for extracting environmental contaminants from various matrices is a growing area of research. Materials that do not cause secondary pollution are highly desirable in such applications. Chitosan (CS) is a non-toxic biopolymer enriched with amino and hydroxyl groups, used not only for extracting pollutants but also for crosslinking and functionalizing CS with other ma-terials. The composites of CS with carbon, metal-organic frameworks, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, and magnetic materials have been used to extract various inorganic and organic analytes in aqueous samples. CS-based sorbents have been evaluated across multiple extraction techniques, such as dispersive solid phase extraction, magnetic solid phase extraction, solid phase microextraction, syringe solid phase extraction, membrane-protected solid phase extraction, and others. This review offers an overview of the CS-based sorbents in analytical extractions, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and potential solutions. At the end, a brief overview of the CS-based adsorbents in water treatment applications is also provided.

Automated summary

The development of greener and more efficient materials for extracting environmental contaminants is a growing area of research. Chitosan, enriched with amino and hydroxyl groups, is a non-toxic biopolymer that can be used for extracting pollutants and functionalizing with other materials. This review provides an overview of the applications of chitosan-based sorbents in analytical extractions and water treatment.