Rice husk-based cellulose nanocrystal/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite film for the removal of Cu (II) cation from aqueous solution

In this study, a nanocomposite film comprising poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and rice husk-derived cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) was introduced as a novel sorbent for removing copper (II) cations. First, CNC was isolated from neat rice husk, and then these particles with many ratios compared to PVA (2, 4, 6, and 10 wt.%) were added to the PVA solution to render the nanocomposite films. The obtained films were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and water uptake tests. The optimal condition for the sorbent preparation was 10 wt.% of CNCs to PVA. The maximum ion adsorption percentage of the PVA/CNC 10 % film reached 55 % after 3 h exposure to 70 ppm Cu (II) ion solution at 25 °C. This research suggested a facile and feasible fabrication method of a nanocomposite film, considered a potential sorbent for the adsorption of copper (II) ions.