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Due to the complexity of contaminants, the effectiveness of traditional flocculants toward water purification is insufficient. To break the limitation, a novel polymer flocculant [chitosan grafted poly (acrylamide-itaconic acid), CS-g-P(AM-IA)] was synthesized via ultraviolet-initiated graft copolymerization reaction. Characterization results revealed that the graft copolymers were successfully synthesized and with rougher surface structure. The solubility of CS-g-P(AM-IA) and chitosan grafted polyacrylamide (CS-g-PAM) were greatly improved and they can dissolve in the wide pH range of 2.0–12.0. CaCl 2 was used as a source of cation bridge to enhance the flocculation of kaolin particles, and its optimum dosage was 150 mg·L −1 . At dosage of 30 mg·L −1 and pH of 5.0, the turbidity removal efficiency of CS-g-P(AM-IA) reached the maximum of 93.8%, whereas those of CS-g-PAM and CS were 96.7% and 76.9%, respectively. The patchwise adsorption of ionic groups embedded in the molecular chain on Ca 2+ -clay complexes took effect to generate flocs with larger particle size. Besides, the decolorization ability of cationic dyes by CS-g-P(AM-IA) was greatly enhanced due to the role of abundant carboxyl groups. In the crystal violet (CV) adsorption experiment, the maximum CV dye removal efficiency for CS-g-P(AM-IA) reached the maximum of 81.6% at dosage of 0.7 mg·mL −1 and pH of 9.0, while those for CS-g-PAM and CS were 51.7% and 36.5%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Self-floating cyclodextrin-modified polymer was prepared. • The adsorption performance of TFCD and FTFCD was compared. • FTFCD simplified the recycling process by wrapping a hollow glass microsphere. • Porous structure and hydrophobic cavity favor the dye adsorption. • Polymers exhibited excellent selectivity toward cationic dyes. The separation and recycling processes of current cyclodextrin (CD)-based adsorbents are complicated. Thus, a novel composite based on a large surface area, porous, and self-floating tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile (TFN)-crosslinked CD polymer (FTFCD), was fabricated, characterized and applied to treat cationic dye pollutants. The characterization showed a porosity, good thermal stability, a stable crystal structure, and abundant functional groups on the prepared FTFCD, which had demonstrated great improvement on its adsorption capacity towards attention grabbing pollutants. The removal efficiency of the adsorbents for malachite green (MG) remained above 95% at pH 1 ∼ 10. In addition, the adsorbents were found to rapidly reach equilibrium governed by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the maximum adsorption capacity of FTFCD was 1390.263 mg/g, as corroborated by the Langmuir isotherm model. While the phenolate groups of FTFCD found to electrostatically interacts with the MG strong cationic quaternary amine group, hydrogen-bonding was responsible for the hydroxyl group of FTFCD and the quaternary amine group binding. Meanwhile, the triangular cone configuration of MG makes it easy to be entrapped and absorbed in the hydrophobic cavity. Besides, after regeneration of exhausted FTFCD for five successive cycles, the MG removal efficiency still reached more than 80%. Thus, FTFCD could be applied as a potential alternative adsorbent for cationic dye removal owing to its excellent adsorption performance, convenient recycling, wide pH application, and environmental friendliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]