Chitosan crosslinked with polyamine-co-melamine for adsorption of Hg2+: Application in purification of polluted water.

Abstract A batch experiment was carried out in order to remove Hg2+ from the aqueous solution as well as the polluted water using modified chitosan (CS) with polyamine compounds (triethylenetetramine (TETA), tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)), and melamine. The obtained polyamine-co-melamine crosslinked CS derivatives (MCS-4N and MCS-5N) were characterized and used as adsorbents. In comparison to the raw CS, the modification significantly promoted the adsorption of Hg2+ ions. The results of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model revealed that pH-dependent derivatives adsorbents achieved the equilibrium state within 12 h. The Langmuir model was best fitted with the Hg2+ adsorption isotherm and showed the highest adsorption capacities of 140.3 and 109.7 mg/g for MCS-4N and MCS-5N, respectively. A slight decrease in the adsorption efficiency of Hg2+ was noticed with the increment of the ionic strength of the solution. However, the studied adsorbents were easily regenerated and presented adequate reusability. The Hg2+ adsorption was regulated by the combined process of coordination reaction and electrostatic attraction as well. The as-prepared polyamine-co-melamine crosslinked CS derivatives were found potential adsorbents for the adsorptive capture of Hg2+ ions from aqueous solutions and polluted waters.