Insights into efficient adsorption of the typical pharmaceutical pollutant with an amphiphilic cellulose aerogel

Abstract

An amphiphilic cellulose aerogel (HCNC-TPB/TMC) was fabricated by grafting 1,3,5-Tris (4-aminophenyl)benzene (TPB) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) onto the aldehyde nanocellulose through Schiff alkali and substitution reaction. The obtained HCNC-TPB/TMC exhibited good morphology with cellulose fiber and owned abundant hydrophilic amino and carboxyl groups and hydrophobic aromatic groups. The batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that HCNC-TPB/TMC showed excellent adsorption performance (Q_max = 526.32 mg g^-1) for sodium diclofenac (DCF), wide pH applicability (4-10) and outstanding stability and reusability. The DCF adsorption obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, and underwent a spontaneous exothermic process. The main adsorption mechanisms involved electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonds, π-π stacking interaction and hydrophobic effect. Importantly, the introduced carboxyl aromatic groups on TMC could effectively strengthen the hydrogen bonds and the π-π stacking between HCNC-TPB/TMC and DCF.

Keywords: Adsorption; Amphipathy; Cellulose aerogel; Sodium diclofenac; Synergy.