Tailoring a bio-based adsorbent for sequestration of late transition and rare earth elements

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Green Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Growing demand for rare earth elements (REE) and late transition metals (LTM) in renewable energy, energy storage, and transportation necessitates sustainable recycling methods.
• Current recycling technologies often lack efficiency and environmental friendliness, highlighting the need for green alternatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel bio-based adsorbent material for the efficient and selective recovery of REE and LTM.
• To evaluate the adsorption performance and understand the mechanism of the developed material for sustainable metal recycling.

Main Methods:

• Functionalization of cotton-derived nanocellulose particles with tris(2-aminoethyl) amine (TAEA) ligand.
• Characterization of the adsorbent using PXRD, SEM-EDS, AFM, and FTIR.
• Investigation of adsorption capacity and kinetics via conductometric photometric titrations.
• Structural analysis of metal-ligand complex using X-ray single crystal study.

Main Results:

• The synthesized bio-based adsorbent achieved a high ligand content (ca. 0.8 mmol g-1).
• The material exhibited rapid adsorption, high capacity, and notable selectivity for LTM over REE.
• X-ray crystallography provided molecular insights into the metal-adsorbent interaction.

Conclusions:

• The developed cotton-derived nanocellulose-TAEA adsorbent presents a promising, sustainable solution for REE and LTM sequestration and recycling.
• This bio-based nanomaterial offers a pathway for designing tailored adsorbents for critical metal recovery.