| Summary: | PVA-alginate hydrogel is formed by mixing PVA and alginate with a simple method and then dropping it into a cross-linking agent that leads to rapid gelation. The PVA-alginate hydrogel can be synthesised in water due to the high solubility of starting material. Both compounds have hydroxyl group (-OH) in their structure that helps in terms of solubility and is consequently classified as an inexpensive, safe, and environmentally friendly synthesis method. Although its starting material is soluble in water, the PVA-alginate hydrogel is lessened. This is because the formation of hydrogen bonding of-OH in the PVA-alginate structure reduces its ability. Meanwhile, the presence of carboxyl ion (-COO-) in the PVA-alginate hydrogel structure acts as an active site for the metal ion to bind. Some researchers modified the PVA-alginate hydrogel to improve the binding effect to metal by increasing the active sites of metal. The PVA-alginate hydrogel can act as a metal ion binder to remove heavy metals such example from transition metal elements in wastewater that are considered harmful to the ecosystem. This review provides an overview of PVA-alginate hydrogel design and its modification to improve the binding properties, and cross-linking. Finally, the limitation of PVA-alginate and its modification were revealed with suggestions for future research in the catalytic study. © 2023, Malaysian Society of Analytical Sciences. All rights reserved.
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