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- Conflict of Interest
- In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
- Publication history
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Received February 8, 2025
Revised July 11, 2025
Accepted July 31, 2025
Available online September 25, 2025
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This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits
unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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D-Sorbitol Xanthate-Based Hydrogel Polymer for Cost-Eff ective and Effi cient Removal of Potentially Toxic Elements from Aqueous Solutions
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00536-8
Abstract
Three grades of D-sorbitol xanthate-based hydrogel (DSXHs-1, DSXHs-2, and DSXHs-3) were synthesized using the free
radical solution copolymerization technique, with acrylic acid and acrylamide as a monomer, KPS as an initiator, and methylene
bisacrylamide (MBA) as a cross-linker. The DSXHs hydrogels were characterized using Fourier transform-infrared
(FTIR) spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, point of zero charge (ΔpH PZC ) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and
scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The synthesized DSXHs hydrogels
were employed for the removal of Cu 2+ and Co 2+ ions from wastewater. The percentage swelling ratio (%SR) of DSXHs-3
was found to be 25,145% in distilled water, 21,148% in tap water, and 18,652% in grey wastewater in 840 min. The percentage
water retention ratio (%WRR) was seen as 81.85% in distilled water, 79.47% in tap water, and 77.67% in grey water in
24 h. The extreme removal of metal ions was detected as 95.25% for Cu 2+ and 93.67% for Co 2+ ions using the DSXHs-3
hydrogel under optimal conditions. The adsorption data fi t well with Langmuir isotherm (LI) model, exhibiting a maximum
adsorption capacity of 531.91 mg/g for Cu 2+ and 515.46 mg/g for Co 2+ ions using DSXHs-3 hydrogel. The adsorption kinetics
data was better explained with the help of pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model, with rate constants of 1.4 × 10 –4 g/
(mg min) for Cu 2+ and 1.5 × 10 –4 g/(mg min) for Co 2+ ions. Additionally, DSXHs-3 hydrogel demonstrated good reusability.
After the fourth cycle, the removal effi ciency remained at 84.27% for Cu 2+ and 82.44% for Co 2+ ions.
