Synthesis and characterization of chitosan-pectin as adsorbent of dyes

Abstract

Environmental pollution due to the disposal of colored substances can endanger both the environment and humans. For this reason, the presence of dyes pollutants needs to be reduced, where adsorption method has become one of the alternative. Research on synthesis of modified chitosan to pectin polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) Chi-Pec has been carried out in order to improve the characteristic of chitosan as adsorbent. The research was done by mixing chitosan solution in acetic acid with pectin solution in water for 3 hours stirring. The solution was then printed out into a polypropylene container and dried. The formed membrane was characterized using FTIR to identify functional groups, XRD and SEM to analyze their physical characteristic. The results showed that the Chi-Pec adsorbent had stability and resistance to the acidic environment. Characterization results using FTIR showed that the adsorbent has functional group of amine, carboxyl and hydrogen. The results of XRD show that the adsorbent was not crystalline. Furthermore, SEM data shows a solid structure of the adsorbent.