Preparation and adsorption ability of polysulfone microcapsules containing modified chitosan gel

Chemically modified chitosan beads containing polyethyleneimine (PEl) were prepared to improve the metal ion adsorption capacity of the chitosan beads and their mechanical stability and to limit their biodegradability. The modified beads were encapsulated with the polymer material polysulfone by a novel surface coating method named the emulsion phase inversion method. The adsorption properties of the modified beads and the microstructures of the polysulfone coating layer were then analyzed. The experimental results showed that the PEl was successfully linked onto the chitosan beads. The density of the 2 /span>groups in the modified beads was significantly increased, while the water content was reduced. The coating layer thickness was about 200μm. The modified chitosan gel beads hed excellent Cu(ll)adsorption capcity, with a maximum Cu(ll) adsorption capacity 1.34 times higher than that of the unmodified beads. The result show that even with the polysulfone coating the adsorption kinetics of the modified beads is still better than those of the unmodified beads. The modification improve the mass transfer performance of the chitosan beads as well as the stability.