Preparation and application of acrylonitrile‐grafted cyanoethyl cellulose for the removal of copper (II) ions

Abstract

Abstract Cyanoethyl cellulose (CE‐Cell) with two different degrees of substitution of 0.37 and 0.60 were prepared from cotton linter. The ionic‐xanthate method was used to graft the acrylonitrile onto CE‐Cell to form acrylonitrile‐grafted cyanoethyl cellulose (GCE‐Cell). The conditions of grafting such as sodium hydroxide concentration, grafting time, monomer concentration, and temperature were optimized. The hydrolyzed CE‐Cell and GCE‐Cell were applied for the adsorption of copper (II) ions from aqueous solution. IR spectroscopy was also used for further evaluation of CE‐Cell and GCE‐Cell. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 329–334, 2006