Volume 135, Issue 13 46040
Article

Chitosan/MCM-41 nanocomposites for efficient beryllium separation

Rania E. Morsi

Corresponding Author

Rania E. Morsi

Analysis and Evaluation Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Cairo, 11727 Egypt

Correspondence to: R. E. Morsi (E-mail: [email protected])Search for more papers by this author
Mohamed A. Elsherief

Mohamed A. Elsherief

Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530 Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

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M. Shabaan

M. Shabaan

Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530 Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

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M. Z. Elsabee

M. Z. Elsabee

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, 12613 Egypt

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First published: 01 December 2017
Citations: 8

ABSTRACT

Chitosan nanoparticles (Ch NPs) with individual particles 10–30 nm in size and average aggregate sizes of 240 nm were prepared via ionic gelation. Ordered mesoporous Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41 (MCM-41) with a surface area of 1590 m2/g was prepared via a sol–gel method. The nanocomposites were prepared via the in situ dispersion of MCM-41 in chitosan followed by ionic gelation with a multivalent anion to produce MCM-41-impregnated Ch NPs or via the mixture of dispersed MCM-41 with preprepared Ch NPs to produce Ch NPs supported on MCM-41. The beryllium-uptake efficiency was studied with different pH values, contact times, and initial Be(II) concentrations. The maximum achieved uptake efficiencies of the nanocomposites (95% and 96%) were superior to that of MCM-41 (38%) and higher than that of Ch NPs (90%). The nanocomposite formulas facilitated post-treatment separation while maintaining a high beryllium-uptake efficiency. The Be(II)-uptake process for all of the materials followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46040.

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