Crown Ether-Immobilized Cellulose Acetate Membranes for the Retention of Gd (III)

Abstract

This study presents a new, revolutionary, and easy method of separating Gd (III). For this purpose, a cellulose acetate membrane surface was modified in three steps, as follows: firstly, with aminopropyl triethoxysylene; then with glutaraldehyde; and at the end, by immobilization of crown ethers. The obtained membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), through which the synthesis of membranes with Gd (III) separation properties is demonstrated. In addition, for the Gd (III) separating process, a gadolinium nitrate solution, with applications of moderator poison in nuclear reactors, was used. The membranes retention performance has been demonstrated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), showing a separation efficiency of up to 91%, compared with the initial feed solution.

Polysaccharides as Economic and Sustainable Raw Materials for the Preparation of Adsorbents for Water Treatment

“…An example of such modifications is the preparation of cellulose crosslinked with crown ethers, such as dibenzo-18-crown 6, using ceric ammonium nitrate as the initiator, which was found to be suitable for Cd (II), Zn (II), Ni (II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) as described by A. Fakhre et al [92]. Moreover, the crown ether-immobilized cellulose acetate membranes presented by Oana Steluta Serbanescu et al were efficient in Gd (III) retention [93]. Other modifications include cellulose subdued to esterification and oxidation processes for Cu(II) removal as described by Dutta Gupta et al, using octenyl succinic anhydride and sodium hypochlorite, respectively [94].…”

Polymeric Membranes for Biomedical Applications

“…Another challenge in the field of hemodialysis is the easy development of membranes, especially custom-made for ‘one-day’ hemodialysis processes to remove compounds that have reached the body as a result of various intoxications. The retention of heavy metals [ 263 , 264 ] from the blood or various organic compounds (pesticides, overdoses of medicines or drugs) could be achieved by filtering the blood with the help of the one-day hemodialysis procedure. The future of hemodialysis depends on a combination of the current membranes, as we know them at the moment, and microfluidics.…”

Cellulose Acetate-Based Materials for Water Treatment in the Context of Circular Economy

“…The preparation of these membranes involved partial hydrolysis in the presence of NaOH to increase the number of available reactive -OH groups, and functionalization with aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTES) to obtain free amino groups for further binding of glutaraldehyde (GA). Next, 4′-aminobenzo-15-crown-5-ether (AB15C5) was immobilized on the glutaraldehyde ends, thus resulting functionalized membranes that showed an ability to complex Gd(III) ions with a retention efficiency of up to 86% [93]. AB15C5-functionalized membranes were also proven to be adequate for the retention of Ca 2+ ions from aqueous solutions, thus opening multiple potential applications in the biomedical field, particularly for osseointegration [94][95][96].…”