Synthesis and characterization of modified cellulose-based hydrogel beads nanocomposite

In this paper, hydrogel beads made of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMCNa) were successfully prepared using epichlorohydrin (ECH) as a crosslinker in the suspension of fluid wax and modified by poly acrylic acid (PAA) and Potassium copper hexacyanoferrate (KCuHCF) nanoparticles for futuristic use in the adsorption of cesium ions from aqueous solutions. Due to their abundant hydroxyl groups and mechanical strength, chemically modified cellulose hydrogel beads have been studied. Changing the color of spherical and fully transparent carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel beads to uniform brown indicates a correct correction and formation of KCuHCF nanoparticles in the hydrogel matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been employed to investigate and compare the modification of the CMCNa hydrogel beads in four different modes as CMCNa hydrogel beads, PAA-CMCNa hydrogel bead, KCuHCF-CMCNa hydrogel bead and KCuHCF-PAA-CMCNa hydrogel bead nanocomposite. The obtained results by FTIR and XRD analysis revealed that a crosslinking reaction occurs between ECH and the hydroxyl groups of CMCNa and these hydrogel beads were accurately corrected by PAA and KCuHCF nanoparticles.