Grafting polymerization of acrylic acid onto chitosan-cellulose hybrid and application of the graft as highly efficient ligand for elimination of water hardness: Validation of high selectivity in presence of interfering ions

Graft Copolymer resulting from polymerization of acrylic acid from chitosan is non-coherent, brittle and exhibit modest swelling in water, which limits its application. Chitosan-cellulose hybrid was initially prepared and novel polymeric ligand ((CTS/Cell)-g-PAA) derived from grafting polymerization of acrylic acid from this hybrid was fabricated and investigated using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, the graft copolymer exhibited high mass transfer under a wide range of pH values due to its elevated hydrophilicity in addition to a good mechanical strength with respect to the comparable graft derived from chitosan as sole backbone for the grafting. The high content of different oxygen and nitrogen-containing groups in a crowded chemical atmosphere along with the high swelling qualified the graft to act as very efficient polymeric ligand with high capacity of removal of metal ions from water under broad conditions. The polymeric ligand performed outstandingly and competitively in the removal of water hardness even in presence of other interfering ions. •Mechanically robust chitosan-cellulose hybrid was prepared.•The hybrid served as a base for grafting polymerization of acrylic acid.•The graft copolymer exhibited high removal capacity of water hardness.•The removal efficiency was maintained under broad conditions.•The selectivity was not affected by presence of sodium ions.