Strong adsorption of arsenic species by amorphous zirconium oxide nanoparticles

Hang Cui, Qi Li, Shian Gao, Jian Ku Shang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A novel oxide adsorbent of amorphous zirconium oxide (am-ZrO 2) nanoparticles was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process for effective arsenic removal from aqueous environment. Due to their high specific surface area (327.1m 2/g), large mesopore volume (0.68cm 3/g), and the presence of high affinity surface hydroxyl groups, am-ZrO 2 nanoparticles demonstrated exceptional adsorption performance on both As(III) (arsenite) and As(V) (arsenate) without pre-treatment at near neutral condition. At pH∼7, the adsorption kinetic is fast and the adsorption capacity is high (over 83mg/g for As(III) and over 32.4mg/g for As(V), respectively). Under low equilibrium arsenic concentrations (C e at 0.01mg/L, the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water), the amount of arsenic adsorbed by am-ZrO 2 nanoparticles is over 0.92mg/g for As(III) and over 5.2mg/g for As(V), respectively. The adsorption mechanism of arsenic species onto am-ZrO 2 nanoparticles was found to follow the inner-sphere complex mechanism. Testing with arsenic contaminated natural lake water confirmed the effectiveness of these am-ZrO 2 nanoparticles in removing arsenic from natural water. The immobilized am-ZrO 2 nanoparticles on glass fiber cloth demonstrated an even better arsenic removal performance than dispersed am-ZrO 2 nanoparticles in water, paving the way for their potential applications in water treatment facility to treat arsenic contaminated water body without pre-treatment.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1418-1427
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 25 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adsorption
  • Amorphous ZrO nanoparticles
  • As(III) and As(V) removal
  • Inner-sphere complex mechanism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Strong adsorption of arsenic species by amorphous zirconium oxide nanoparticles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this