Chitosan-minerals-based composites for adsorption of caesium, cobalt and europium.

Currently, there is a growing interest in the use of natural materials in various fields of science, technology and environmental protection due to their availability, low-cost, non-toxicity and biodegradability. Chitosan, natural clay of local origin, montmorillonite, zeolite, cross-linking agents (epichlorohydrin, sodium tripolyphosphate, glutaraldehyde) and plasticisers (glycerol) were used to synthesise composites. The composites were characterised by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), tested for their antibacterial activity and used in batch experiments to study the adsorption of caesium, cobalt and europium ions.

Preparation of Graphene Oxide-Maghemite-Chitosan Composites for the Adsorption of Europium Ions from Aqueous Solutions.

The adsorption of Eu(III) on composites synthesised from graphene oxide (GO), maghemite (MGH), and chitosan (CS) has been studied using different approaches. The physicochemical and morphological characteristics of the composites GO-MGH, GO-CS, GO-MGH-CS I, II, and III were determined by XRD, Mössbauer spectroscopy, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM. According to the results of batch experiments, the maximum experimental adsorption capacity was 52, 54, 25, 103, and 102 mg/g for GO-MGH, GO-CS, GO-MGH-CS I, II, and III, respectively.