Investigation on the Adsorption-Interaction Mechanism of Pb(II) at Surface of Silk Fibroin Protein-Derived Hybrid Nanoflower Adsorbent

Abstract

For further the understanding of the adsorption mechanism of heavy metal ions on the surface of protein-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers, a novel protein-derived hybrid nanoflower was prepared to investigate the adsorption behavior and reveal the function of organic and inorganic parts on the surface of nanoflowers in the adsorption process in this study. Silk fibroin (SF)-derived and copper-based protein-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers of SF@Cu-NFs were prepared through self-assembly. The product was characterized and applied to adsorption of heavy metal ion of Pb(II). With Chinese peony flower-like morphology, the prepared SF@Cu-NFs showed ordered three-dimensional structure and exhibited excellent efficiency for Pb(II) removal. On one hand, the adsorption performance of SF@Cu-HNFs for Pb(II) removal was evaluated through systematical thermodynamic and adsorption kinetics investigation. The good fittings of Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models indicated the monolayer adsorption and high capacity of about 2000 mg g−1 of Pb(II) on SF@Cu-NFs. Meanwhile, the negative values of Δ r G m ( T ) θ and Δ r H m θ proved the spontaneous and exothermic process of Pb(II) adsorption. On the other hand, the adsorption mechanism of SF@Cu-HNFs for Pb(II) removal was revealed with respect to its individual organic and inorganic component. Organic SF protein was designated as responsible ‘stamen’ adsorption site for fast adsorption of Pb(II), which was originated from multiple coordinative interaction by numerous amide groups; inorganic Cu3(PO4)2 crystal was designated as responsible ‘petal’ adsorption site for slow adsorption of Pb(II), which was restricted from weak coordinative interaction by strong ion bond of Cu(II). With only about 10% weight content, SF protein was proven to play a key factor for SF@Cu-HNFs formation and have a significant effect on Pb(II) treatment. By fabricating SF@Cu-HNFs hybrid nanoflowers derived from SF protein, this work not only successfully provides insights on its adsorption performance and interaction mechanism for Pb(II) removal, but also provides a new idea for the preparation of adsorption materials for heavy metal ions in environmental sewage in the future.

Aquananotechnology: oriented-sawdust waste valorization into magnetic nanocellulosic particles for Synozol Red K-HL sorption prospect

“…But, slow adsorption stage of R KHL dye onto the material is suggestive from unique coordinative interaction produced between R KHL and O element. Therefore, the slow adsorption occurred in the longer adsorption time (Li et al 2020).…”

Use of fibroin polypeptide from silk processing waste as an effective biosorbent for heavy metal removal

“…[14][15][16] Silk fibroin is a natural biopolymer that is potentially an economical adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from water. [17,18] A great deal of work has been done on the use of fibroin to form bio-composites [19][20][21][22] with other suitable materials (eg, cellulose acetate, chitosan, nylon 6, and graphene oxide and titanate nanosheets), in the form of membranes and films, [23,24] porous foams, [25] hydrogels, [26] aerogels, [27] and nanofibers [28,29] for dye and heavy metal removal. The properties of the bio-composites are obviously affected by the intrinsic properties of fibroin, especially when fibroin is the major component in the composites.…”

Surface and Interface Engineering for Organic Device Applications

“…The diversity of contributions presented in this Special Issue exhibits the potential of organic materials in a variety of applications that are not limited to the fabrication of organic devices. This Special Issue contains eight featured original research papers as regards nanoarchitecture based on organic elements [ 1 ], physical behaviors of organic-based composite materials [ 2 ], surface exfoliation and device fabrication using functional polymers [ 3 , 4 ], performance enhancements of organic-based electronic devices [ 5 , 6 ], conductivity analysis of conducting polymers [ 7 ], and measurement system applicable to analysis of surface and interface engineering [ 8 ].…”

“…In the contributed article entitled “Investigation on the Adsorption-Interaction Mechanism of Pb(II) at Surface of Silk Fibroin Protein-Derived Hybrid Nanoflower Adsorbent” [ 1 ], Xiang Li et al demonstrated the preparation of protein-derived hybrid nanoflowers via self-assembly, and investigated their adsorption behaviors and partialized functions of organic and inorganic elements upon adsorption. The prepared nanoflowers exhibited excellent efficiency for Pb(II) removal, which was evaluated by thermodynamic and adsorption kinetics investigation in this study.…”