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Journal of Polymer & Composites

Facile Fabrication and Characterization of Novel Sterculia Gum–graft-poly(n-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) Hydrogel for Efficient Removal of Cationic Dyes from Aqueous Solution

  1. Nisha Sharma
  2. Sinderpal Kabalsingh Tank

Abstract

Water is indispensable component of life. Contamination of water is a severe problem that affects human health, aquatic vegetation, and fauna. Aside from various effluents, a variety of cationic dyes generated by industrial effluents contributes significantly to water contamination. In this study, a sterculia gum graft-poly(n-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogel was made using a graft copolymerization technique with N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide as a crosslinker, ammonium persulphate as an initiator, and tetramethylethylenediamine as an accelerator to enrich cationic dyes from aqueous solution. SEM, FTIR, TGA, and swelling experiments were used to characterize the final hydrogel. SEM images show a thick surface with uneven pores and craters, indicating that the grafting and hydrogel production were successful. The hydrogel swelled pH-dependently, with a maximum swelling of 10.88 g/g at pH 9.2 and a minimum of 7.91 g/g at pH 4. The effectiveness of a sterculia gum graft-poly(n-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogel for removing the cationic dyes, methylene blue, malachite green, and crystal violet has been thoroughly investigated. The influence of feed dye concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and reaction temperature was experimentally examined. The maximal adsorption capacities for methylene blue(MB), malachite green(MG), and crystal violet(CV) were 17.885, 18.031, and 16.995 mg/g, respectively, at pH 7 and 35°C, according to the Temkin isotherm model. The dye adsorption occurred in a regulated mode through less Fickian mechanism and obeyed pseudo-first-order kinetic model. In addition, following three adsorption-desorption cycles, the adsorbent showed high reusability. As a result, the sterculia gum graft-poly(n-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogel may be used to purify water and remove cationic dyes from aqueous solution effectively.

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