Magnetically responsive gels based on crosslinked gelatin: An overview on the synthesis, properties and their potential in water remediation

Abstract

Efficient adsorbent ferrogels based on gelatin and dextrose was synthetized by using freeze-thawing technique. Two different methodologies of magnetic particles incorporation were developed. An exhaustive morphological and thermal characterization of hydro and ferrogels was achieved. The performance of ferrogel in water remediation was tested using Cd(II) as model contaminant. The adsorption ability was evaluated as a function of: pH, initial heavy metal concentration and contact time. The maximum adsorption capacity was 35 mg of Cd(II)/g of adsorbent. Ferrogel was regenerated by washing with distilled water, maintaining efficiency of almost 30% after the fourth cycle