An effective and recyclable adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous system: Magnetic chitosan/cellulose microspheres.

Development of highly cost-effective, highly operation-convenient and highly efficient natural polymer-based adsorbents for their biodegradability and biocompatibility, and supply of safe drinking water are the most threatening problems in water treatment field. To tackle the challenges, a new kind of efficient recyclable magnetic chitosan/cellulose hybrid microspheres was prepared by sol-gel method. By embedding magnetic γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles in chitosan/cellulose matrix drops in NaOH/urea aqueous solution, it combined renewability and biocompatibility of chitosan and cellulose as well as magnetic properties of γ-Fe2O3 to create a hybrid system in heavy metal ions removal.