Preparation and Surface Modification of Nanocellulose and Its Adsorption Performance on Cu2+

Abstract

Nanocellulose fibers (NCFs) were converted to cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and then modified with diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) to form modified CNCs (DTPA–CNCs), which were investigated as adsorbents for removing Cu2+ from aqueous solution. The adsorption behavior was affected by pH, contact time, dosage and raw Cu2+ concentration. Langmuir model is the best method to fit the adsorption isotherm of experimental results. The optimal conditions for Cu2+ adsorption were 2 h at 35 °C and pH 3, the optimal adsorption capacity is 94.5 mg/g. These functional groups on the DTPA–CNCs provided enhanced adsorption capacity, compared with unmodified NCFs.