Nanotech Reinforcement onto Cellulosic Fibers: Green Remediation of Toxic Metals

ABSTRACT Strengthening the functional (COO−) group and nanotech reinforcement for binding of cationic metal species has been applied to cellulosic fibers. Modified Nano cellulosic fibers (NCFs) have been used for the remediation of cationic toxic metals from water bodies. Different polymerized NCFs exhibited enhancement in sorption efficiency (3 to 10%) and stability in terms of increased (3 to 5) regeneration cycles for Cd (II), Pb (II), Ni (II), and Cr (III) ions in single and multi-metal solutions. Novel NCFs have been characterized on the basis of Optical, TEM, FTIR, and TGA techniques and found to have enough potential for environmental clean-up.