Stannic chloride impregnated chitosan for defluoridation of water.

Chitosan, a potent amino polysaccharide, has been impregnated with Sn(IV) chloride for effective adsorption of fluoride from water. The Sn(IV) chloride impregnated chitosan was synthesized using microwave assisted technique. The material was thoroughly characterized using FTIR, SEM, EDX and XRD. The decrease in surface area and pore volume has been revealed from BET studies. Enhanced thermal stability of this material was ascertained by TGA-DTA studies. This Sn(IV) chloride impregnated chitosan(Sn-Ch) has been exploited for its defluoridation property. Various parameters like pH, amount of adsorbent, adsorption time etc have been optimized to achieve maximum defluoridation efficiency. Under optimum conditions, Sn-Ch was found to have adsorption capacity of 17. 63mg/g. The equilibrium studies showed that the data fits well with Freundlich isotherm model. Thermodynamics and kinetics parameters have been evaluated. The material has been applied for the defluoridation of real water sample. It was found to be recyclable material and can be regenerated and reused multiple times adding a greener dimension.