Carboxymethyl chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol double network hydrogels prepared by freeze-thawing and calcium chloride cross-linking for efficient dye adsorption

The discharge of dye wastewater resulting from rapid industrial development has become a serious environmental concern. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop efficient methods and technologies for the removal of dye pollutants. This study introduced a double network hydrogel, with varying carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) contents and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), employing a combination of freeze- thawing and calcium chloride cross-linking. The investigation focused on the rheological properties of the hydrogels and their removal ability of acidic blue 93 (AB). The results showed that the strength and viscoelastic modulus of composite hydrogels were positively correlated with the CMCS content, and all composite hydrogels exhibited the typical weak strain overshoot behavior. The pore size of the gel initially decreased and then increased, with the densest pores observed at 4 wt% CMCS, showing the optimal removal ability for AB. The adsorption process followed pseudo second-order kinetic model, dominated by external diffusion, and exhibited inhomogeneous multilayer adsorption. This study unveils the potential of CMCS/PVA gels as adsorbents, offering inspirations for the design and development of polyvinyl alcohol-based gels for applications in the food industry.