Loading and releasing behavior of carboxymethyl cellulose and chitosan complex beads

The complex beads of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and chitosan (CHI) that are fabricated by interfacial complexation have a core-shell structure composed of a thin skin layer and a 3D entangled internal structure, which endows the beads with adsorption possibilities toward anionic and cationic molecules via electrostatic interaction. However, the loading and releasing behavior of such a system is essential and fundamental for their application yet has not been studied systematically. In this work, the influences of beads physical state, adsorbent dosage, agitation speed, solution pH and temperature on the loading behavior were investigated. The CMC@CHI beads demonstrated different loading efficiency to three typical dyes of methylene blue (MB), acid blue-113 (AB), and methyl orange (MO) with different charge status. The adsorption rate followed an order of MB ˃ AB ˃ MO, giving 97.4%, 73.3% and 20.2%, respectively. The releasing of three dyes from CMC@CHI beads also exhibited different rates, and MB release was found to be prolonged compared to AB and MO. The loading mechanism of dyes was further investigated via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These CMC@CHI beads may have possible applications in mixed dye removal as well as encapsulating systems of drugs or sensitive chemicals with different charges.