Design of Chitosan-Grafted Carbon Nanotubes: Evaluation of How the –OH Functional Group Affects Cs+ Adsorption

Marine Drugs

Shubin Yang³  Dadong Shao³  Xiangke Wang³  Guangshun Hou²  Masaaki Nagatsu¹  Xiaoli Tan³  Xuemei Ren³  Jitao Yu² 

[1] Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 3-5-1, Johoka-ku, Hamamatsu 432-8561, Japan; E-Mail:;Institute of Resources & Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China; E-Mail:;School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China; E-Mails:

关键词: carbon nanotube (CNTs);    chitosan;    Cs⁺ adsorption;    –OH functional groups;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md13053116

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In order to explore the effect of –OH functional groups in Cs⁺ adsorption, we herein used the low temperature plasma-induced grafting method to graft chitosan onto carbon nanotubes (denoted as CTS-g-CNTs), as raw-CNTs have few functional groups and chitosan has a large number of –OH functional groups. The synthesized CTS-g-CNT composites were characterized using different techniques. The effect of –OH functional groups in the Cs⁺ adsorption process was evaluated by comparison of the adsorption properties of raw-CNTs with and without grafting chitosan. The variation of environmental conditions such as pH and contact time was investigated. A comparison of contaminated seawater and simulated groundwater was also evaluated. The results indicated that: (1) the adsorption of Cs⁺ ions was strongly dependent on pH and the competitive cations; (2) for CNT-based material, the –OH functional groups have a positive effect on Cs⁺ removal; (3) simulated contaminated groundwater can be used to model contaminated seawater to evaluate the adsorption property of CNTs-based material. These results showed direct observational evidence on the effect of –OH functional groups for Cs⁺ adsorption. Our findings are important in providing future directions to design and to choose effective material to remedy the removal of radioactive cesium from contaminated groundwater and seawater, crucial for public health and the human social environment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.