title: Chitin nanofibrils for rapid and efficient removal of metal ions from water system.
abstract: Joint mechanical defibrillation was successfully used to downsize chitin micro-particles (CMP) into nanofibrils without changing its chemical or crystalline structure. The fine chitin nanofibrils (CNF) bearing width of about 50 nm and length of more than 1 μm were then developed as heavy metal ion sorbents. The uptake performance of CNF dependent on pH, ionic concentration, time, and temperature was investigated. Results show that fixation amount of Cd(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cr(III) on CNF was up to 2.94, 2.30, 2.22, 2.06, 1.46, and 0.31 mmol/g, respectively, much higher than CMP due to high specific surface area and widely distributed pores of CNF. Adsorption kinetics of CMP and CNF followed pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich isotherm although CNF exhibited higher rate constant and sorption capacity than that of CMP. The defibrillated CNF is renewable, feasible, easily recyclable, and is thought as good candidate for heavy metal ion treatment due to their low sorption energy, rapid and efficient uptake capacity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, PR China. dagangliu@gmail.com
authors.forename: Dagang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Zehui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Donglin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002686:Chitin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008863:Microspheres; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D002686:Chitin
keywords: Biosorption; Chitin; Heavy metal; Nanofibril