Functional chitosan/glycidyl methacrylate-based cryogels for efficient removal of cationic and anionic dyes and antibacterial applications

In this study, we constructed a novel family of chitosan-based cryogels with antibacterial activity to treat different types of dye wastewater. Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) cross-linked chitosan (CS) cryogels functionalized with negatively and positively molecules were prepared via thermo-crosslinking and freeze-drying methods. These chitosan-based cryogels present a well-defined three-dimensional microporous network structure with ultra-light and high porosity, and have high water absorption ability. For CS/GMA/SMA cryogels, 71.20% of Cationic Yellow X-8GL (CY) can be removed, and the process kinetics well corresponded to the Pseudo-second order model and Freundlich model. The quantity and percent of Reactive Yellow B-4RFN (RY) removal by CS/GMA/DMC cryogel reached at 224.6 mg/g and 96.11%, which closely fitted the Pseudo-second order model and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm. Furthermore, the chitosan-based cryogels showed antibacterial efficacies against E. coli and S. aureus. The prepared chitosan-based cryogels with adsorption and antibacterial properties have great potential for the remediation of dyeing wastewater.

Automated summary

A novel family of chitosan-based cryogels with antibacterial activity was constructed in this study for treating different types of dye wastewater. These cryogels showed high removal efficiency for dye pollutants and exhibited great potential for the remediation of dyeing wastewater.