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Cotton as Precursor for the Preparation of Porous Cellulose Adsorbers
Author(s) -
Wittmar Alexandra S. M.,
Baumert Daniel,
Ulbricht Mathias
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.202000778
Subject(s) - dissolution , ionic liquid , materials science , cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , chemical engineering , porosity , solvent , adsorption , biopolymer , aqueous solution , polymer , cellulose acetate , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite material , catalysis , engineering
Natural biopolymer‐based porous spherical adsorbers from cellulose have good efficiency for removal of metal ion pollutants from aqueous media. However, high purity celluloses, most commonly used as precursors for preparation of the adsorber spheres, require complex synthesis processes, which consume energy and chemicals, and may thus lead to other types of pollution. In this work, the possibility to prepare cellulose‐based porous spherical adsorbers directly from cotton, using an ionic liquid‐based platform is analyzed in detail. The dissolution of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), as reference, and of cotton in ionic liquid‐based solvents and the properties of the obtained polymer solutions are investigated in order to evaluate their processability toward porous macrospheres using the drop shaping cum non‐solvent induced phase separation process. The properties of the prepared spheres are assessed. The dissolution of cotton is more difficult than the dissolution of MCC and the formed cotton‐based solutions are considerably more viscous, which makes their processability possible only after careful adjustment of the cotton solution concentration. The maximum adsorption capacities toward Cu 2+ are ≈110 and ≈72 mg/g for the porous cotton‐based spheres prepared from 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim][OAc]):dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) = 2:1 and 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim][OAc]):DMSO = 2:1 solutions, respectively.