Adsorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution onto triethylenetetramine-functionalized cellulose aerogel

A novel eco-friendly and high-efficiency sorbent, triethylenetetramine-modified cellulose (TETA-MCC) aerogel, was prepared by grafting triethylenetetramine (TETA) onto cellulose for the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses revealed that the TETA-MCC aerogel featured a distinct porous network structure and exhibited new characteristic peaks of amino groups, confirming the successful grafting of TETA. The results demonstrated that the TETA-MCC aerogel exhibited good adsorption performance for Cr(VI), achieving a removal efficiency of 91.03 % at pH= 2 with a contact time of 240 min. The adsorption of Cr(VI) onto TETA-MCC aerogel followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model ( R ²>0.99) over the Cr(VI) concentration range of 10–30 mg L −1 . The equilibrium adsorption data for Cr(VI) on the TETA-MCC aerogel were better fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model in the temperature range of 30–40°C. The thermodynamic parameters indicate a spontaneous and endothermic adsorption process of Cr(VI) onto the TETA-MCC aerogel. These results demonstrate that the TETA-MCC aerogel is a promising adsorbent for the effective removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated water. • TETA-MCC aerogel via one-pot process has porous structure and uniform amino groups. • TETA-MCC aerogel shows excellent reusability with a 6.17 % efficiency loss after 4 cycles. • Cr(VI) adsorption on TETA-MCC fits pseudo-second-order model and is spontaneous endothermic.