Research on Adsorption of Heavy Metal Ions by Polysaccharide Hydrogels

Abstract In recent years, various industrial and agricultural problems have been highlighted, and the pollution of heavy metal ions to water bodies has become a considerable serious phenomenon. Adsorption method is an efficient, low‐cost, and easy to implement method for removing heavy metal ions, which does not produce secondary pollution, and has been widely used in water treatment. Polysaccharides are natural polymers, and their hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amine groups provide feasibility for the synthesis of hydrogels with various structures. The synthesized polysaccharide hydrogel has the characteristics of high adsorption capacity, specific adsorption, nontoxic, and so on. In this review, the kinds of polysaccharide hydrogels and different synthesis methods were discussed first. Then, the adsorption mechanism and different adsorption modes of polysaccharide hydrogels were reviewed. Finally, the effects of different environmental factors on the adsorption capacity of polysaccharide hydrogel were studied. The future research on the adsorption of heavy metal ions by polysaccharide hydrogels was proposed.