Thiosemicarbazone-Modified Cellulose: Synthesis, Characterization, and Adsorption Studies on Cu(II) Removal

Abstract

Thiosemicarbazide-modified cellulose (MTC) has been studied for removing heavy metals in the water source or for extracting some precious metals. The conditions of synthesis of MTC and Cu(II) removal were optimized by single-variable analysis through oxidation-reduction on titration and photometry. The results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and thermogravimetric analyses show that MTC exists in the thioketone form with a high surface area and heat durability. The Cu(II) removal was of pseudo-second order and the isotherm equation correlated best with the Langmuir equation. MTC has the maximum capacity of adsorption, which is qm = 106.3829 mg g-1. Furthermore, MTC can be regenerated without the loss of adsorption efficiency after ten cycles of adsorption and desorption.