Mussel-Inspired Nanocellulose Coating for Selective Neodymium Recovery

Neodymium (Nd) is one of the most in-demand rare earthelements(REEs) for developing the next generation of magnetic medical devicesand clean energy. Eco-friendly and sustainable nanotechnology forREE recovery may be highly suitable to address the limited globalsupply while minimizing the environmental footprints of current practice,such as solvent extraction. Here, we present a novel one-step mussel-inspirednanocellulose coating (MINC) using bifunctional hairy cellulose nanocrystals(BHCNC), bearing dialdehyde and dicarboxylate groups. The dialdehydegroups enable dopamine-mediated orthogonal conjugation of BHCNC tosubstrates, such as microparticles, while the high content of dicarboxylategroups yields high-capacity and selective Nd removal against ferric,calcium, and sodium ions. To the best of our knowledge, the MINC-treatedsubstrate provides the most rapid selective removal and recovery ofNd ions even at low Nd concentrations with a capacity that is amongthe highest reported values. We envision that the MINC will providenew opportunities in developing next-generation bio-based materialsand interfaces for the sustainable recovery of REEs and other preciouselements.

Automated summary

Neodymium (Nd) is a highly demanded rare earth element (REE) for developing magnetic medical devices and clean energy. A novel one-step mussel-inspired nanocellulose coating (MINC) using bifunctional hairy cellulose nanocrystals (BHCNC) has been presented, which enables rapid and selective removal and recovery of Nd ions even at low concentrations. The MINC offers new opportunities for sustainable recovery of REEs and other precious elements.