Tailoring amino-functionalized n-alkyl methacrylate ester-based bio-hybrids for adsorption of methyl orange dye: Controllable macromolecular architecture via polysaccharide-integrated ternary copolymerization

Controllable macromolecular architecture formation via polysaccharide integrated ternary copolymerization was explored in the design of amino-functionalized n-alkyl methacrylate ester-based biohybrids. Ternary poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate-co-hydroxypropyl methacrylate)/sodium-alginate, PDGH/ALG, hybrids were designed using anionic polysaccharide through in-situ radical polymerization. An insight into the effect of ALG on physicochemical structure of ternary hybrids, particularly the interactions between polymeric chains, was created. In addition to incorporation of ALG, the effect of polymerization under cryocondition on mechanical stiffness of hybrids was investigated. Adding 0.5 % ALG to ternary PDGH matrix resulted in a 4.2-fold increase in compressive modulus. Swelling of hybrid hydrogels prepared at 1 °C decreased by 5 times, while a 3.4-fold decrease was observed in hybrid cryogels formed at −18 °C. ALG-rich hybrids showed “salting-in” behavior with increasing salt concentration in NaCl, KCl and MgCl₂ solutions, while hybrids with low ALG-content exhibited “salting-out” behavior. The hybrid gels were applied to adsorption of anionic dye methyl orange (MO) from simulated dye wastewater. The adsorption was found to follow Freundlich mechanism and a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. ALG-integrated hybrid gels showed a high desorption efficiency and a longer lifespan during the regeneration process, thus showing potential to be used for anionic dye removal from textile wastewater in industry.