Chitosan hydrogels embedding hyper-crosslinked polymer particles as reusable broad-spectrum adsorbents for dye removal

The removal of dye and toxic ionic pollutants from water is an extremely important issue that requires systematic and efficient adsorbent preparation strategies. To address this challenge, we developed composite chitosan (CS)-based hydrogels containing hyper-crosslinked polymer (HCP) particles to be used as broad-spectrum adsorbents. The goal is to efficiently combine the dye adsorption ability of chitosan and the capacity of the porous particles of trapping pollutant molecules. The HCP particles are well distributed and firmly embedded into the chitosan matrix and the composite hydrogels exhibit improved mechanical properties. Adsorption experiments reveal a synergistic effect between CS and HCP particles, and the samples are able to remove both anionic and cationic dyes (indigo carmine, rhodamine 6G and sunset yellow) from water. The maximum dye uptake is higher than that of comparable biosorbents. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the composite hydrogels are enhanced respect to pure CS, and the samples can be regenerated and reused keeping their adsorption ability unaltered over successive cycles of adsorption, desorption, and washing.