C2-symmetric cyclohexane-based hydrogels: A rational designed LMWG and its application in dye scavenging

Dye/water separation is a worldwide challenge because of the increasing industrial dye wastewater. In this paper, a novel pH-responsive C 2 -symmetric cyclohexane based hydrogel was developed and was capable of rapidly adsorbing dye molecules in minutes. This hydrogel dye adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The adsorption equilibrium of the dyes is in good agreement with Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Moreover, the hydrogel adsorbent can be recovered easily just by changing the pH of the medium, which is promising to be used an efficient dye adsorbent in water purification .