Wood-inspired nanocellulose aerogel adsorbents with excellent selective pollutants capture, superfast adsorption, and easy regeneration

Heavy metal ions can cause a series of hazards to environment and humans. Herein, we developed a woodinspired nanocellulose aerogel adsorbent with excellent selective capability, superfast adsorption, and easy regeneration. The premise for the design is that the biomimetic honeycomb architecture and specific covalent bonding networks can provide the adsorbent with structural and mechanical integrity yet superfast removal of target contaminants. The as-obtained adsorbent showed the maximum adsorption capacity for Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn (II), Cd(II), and Mn(II) of 571 mg g-1, 462 mg g-1, 361 mg g-1, 263 mg g- 1, and 208 mg g-1, respectively. The adsorbent could remove Pb(II) species with super-rapid speed (87% and 100% of its equilibrium uptake in 2 min and 10 min, respectively). Furthermore, the adsorption isotherm and kinetics models were in accord with the Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models, indicating that the adsorption behavior was dominated by monolayer chemisorption. The aerogel adsorbent had better affinity for Pb(II) than other coexisting ions in wastewater and could be regenerated for at least five cycles. Such a wood-inspired aerogel adsorbent holds great potential in the application of contaminant cleaning.

Automated summary

The woodinspired nanocellulose aerogel adsorbent demonstrated excellent selective capability, superfast adsorption, and easy regeneration for heavy metal ions. It showed highest adsorption capacities for Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn (II), Cd(II), and Mn(II) and exhibited rapid removal of Pb(II) species. The adsorption behavior was dominated by monolayer chemisorption, and the aerogel adsorbent had better affinity for Pb(II) than other coexisting ions in wastewater, suggesting potential applications in contaminant cleaning.