Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior

Braz, Wanderson Ferreira; Teixeira, Lucas Tonetti; Navarro, Rogério; Pandoli, Omar Ginoble

doi:10.3390/met15080832

Open AccessArticle

Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior

by

Wanderson Ferreira Braz

^1,†

,

Lucas Tonetti Teixeira

^1,†

,

Rogério Navarro

^1,*

and

Omar Ginoble Pandoli

^2,3

¹

Chemical and Materials Engineering Department, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, Brazil

²

Chemistry Department, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, Brazil

³

Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Genova, 16126 Genova, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Metals 2025, 15(8), 832; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080832

Submission received: 7 June 2025 / Revised: 15 July 2025 / Accepted: 19 July 2025 / Published: 25 July 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Recycling of Valuable Metals—2nd Edition)

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Abstract

Carboxylate (TCNF) and sulfonated (SCNC) cellulose nanofibers were synthesized and used as adsorbents for metallic cations in aqueous solutions: Na⁺ and Hg²⁺ (SCNC); Mg²⁺ and Hg²⁺ (TCNF). ICP-OES analysis of the liquid phase revealed metal removal efficiencies at room temperature of 89.3% (Hg²⁺) and 100% (Mg²⁺) for TCNF, 35.2% (Hg²⁺) and 63.3% (Na⁺) for SCNC after 3 h of contact. Interestingly, the nanofibers exhibited a distinct thermal degradation profile (characterized by two main events) compared to that of cellulose, suggesting that their nanostructured morphology and surface functionalization may enhance thermal instability. Additionally, the presence of metals at its surface notably altered the thermal degradation kinetics, as observed for mercury and magnesium in TCNF. Finally, the results for SCNC strongly suggest that the mechanism for thermal degradation can also change, as observed for mercury and sodium, expressed through the appearance of a new DTG peak located around 300 °C.

Keywords: adsorption; nanocellulose; thermal behavior; heavy metal; aqueous solutions

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MDPI and ACS Style

Braz, W.F.; Teixeira, L.T.; Navarro, R.; Pandoli, O.G. Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior. Metals 2025, 15, 832. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080832

AMA Style

Braz WF, Teixeira LT, Navarro R, Pandoli OG. Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior. Metals. 2025; 15(8):832. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080832

Chicago/Turabian Style

Braz, Wanderson Ferreira, Lucas Tonetti Teixeira, Rogério Navarro, and Omar Ginoble Pandoli. 2025. "Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior" Metals 15, no. 8: 832. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080832

APA Style

Braz, W. F., Teixeira, L. T., Navarro, R., & Pandoli, O. G. (2025). Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior. Metals, 15(8), 832. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15080832

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Nanocellulose Application for Metal Adsorption and Its Effect on Nanofiber Thermal Behavior

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