Design of AgNPs -Base Starch/PEG-Poly (Acrylic Acid) Hydrogel for Removal of Mercury (II)

In the present study, we introduce the formation of Starch/PEG-poly (acrylic acid) hydrogel (St-PEG-AcAH) and nanocomposite of AgNPs-base St-PEG-AcAH (AgNPs-St-PEG-AcANCH) free radical method, and their characterization using analytical techniques of FT-IR, TEM, SEM, EDX, AFM, XRD, TGA/DTG. The thermodynamic parameters and application of prepared hydrogels was investigated for the removal of Hg2+ ions in water and the various solvents such as ethanol-water (30:70), ethanol-water (50:50), 2-propanol–water (40:60), respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of Hg2+ ions for St-PEG-AcAH and AgNPs-St-PEG-AcANCH was achieved 158.21 mg/g and 182.53 mg/g in pH 7 and 6 in aqueous solutions, respectively. On the other hand, the results of adsorption isotherms revealed that adsorption process for both adsorbents occurred as a homogenous and monolayer process with L-shape isotherm. Furthermore, investigating the bioactivity of bioadsorbents, the good antimicrobial efficiency of the prepared samples was confirmed on E. coli bacteria.