Radiation-Induced Improving Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Carboxymethyl Cellulose/Clay Composite for Application in Removal of Copper(II) Ions from Wastewater

Abstract

A study was carried out on the effect of gamma irradiation on the mechanical and thermal properties of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/Ca-montmorillonite clay composite, prepared by blending using solvent method. In this study, carboxymethyl cellulose was used as a hosting matrix where clay was added to there at different contents: 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5 wt%, as a filler. The polymer composite films were cross-linked by irradiation with different integral doses. The results showed that the tensile strength (TS) increased continuously with radiation dose up to 10 kGy, beyond which declined. Meanwhile, TS exhibited increases with clay load ratio. However, the elongation at break (Eb) decreased continuously with dose and clay percentage within the developed composite films. Variation in structure and thermal properties were studied using X-ray diffractometion (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. The produced CMC/clay composites were implemented in removing copper (II) ions from a synthesized wastewater. The isotherm models and kinetic studies for the adsorption of Cu (II) onto CMC/clay were carried out. The results revealed that 0.1 g fabricated composite film irradiated at 10 kGy significantly removed copper (II) ions with adsorption capacity of 54.6 mg/g at optimum conditions: pH = 5, contact time = 300 min.