Removal of Cd(II) from Micro-Polluted Water by Magnetic Core-Shell Fe3O4@Prussian Blue.

A novel core-shell magnetic Prussian blue-coated Fe3O4 composites (Fe3O4@PB) were designed and synthesized by in-situ replication and controlled etching of iron oxide (Fe3O4) to eliminate Cd (II) from micro-polluted water. The core-shell structure was confirmed by TEM, and the composites were characterized by XRD and FTIR. The pore diameter distribution from BET measurement revealed the micropore-dominated structure of Fe3O4@PB. The effects of adsorbents dosage, pH, and co-existing ions were investigated. Batch results revealed that the Cd (II) adsorption was very fast initially and reached equilibrium after 4 h. A pH of 6 was favorable for Cd (II) adsorption on Fe3O4@PB. The adsorption rate reached 98.78% at an initial Cd (II) concentration of 100 µg/L. The adsorption kinetics indicated that the pseudo-first-order and Elovich models could best describe the Cd (II) adsorption onto Fe3O4@PB, indicating that the sorption of Cd (II) ions on the binding sites of Fe3O4@PB was the main rate-limiting step of adsorption. The adsorption isotherm well fitted the Freundlich model with a maximum capacity of 9.25 mg·g-1 of Cd (II). The adsorption of Cd (II) on the Fe3O4@PB was affected by co-existing ions, including Cu (II), Ni (II), and Zn (II), due to the competitive effect of the co-adsorption of Cd (II) with other co-existing ions.

Electrochemical recovery of cobalt using nanoparticles film of copper hexacyanoferrates from aqueous solution.

Nanoparticles film of copper metal hexacyanoferrates (CuHCF) was fabricated to electrochemically separate Co2+ in aqueous solutions under various conditions such as applied potential, solution pHs, initial concentrations, contact time and coexisting ions. Results showed that the removal efficiency conducted in reduction potential was obviously higher than that in oxidation potential. The optimal pH for Co2+ adsorption occurred at 8.0. Coexisting ions studies revealed that Co2+ could be removed from aqueous solutions containing Li+, Cu2+ and Al3+. Considering that cobalt and lithium are the main metallic elements in LiCoO2, the effect of different ionic strengths (IS) of LiNO3 (0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10) on adsorption was further investigated. Results showed that IS of LiNO3 had little impact on the removal efficiency of Co2+, which indicated the potential of selective recovery of cobalt from LiCoO2 in spent lithium-ion batteries. X-ray energy-dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed that the Co2+ could be adsorbed effectively onto CuHCF film. The adsorption was well described by Langmuir isotherm and the maximum sorption capacity is 218.82 mg/g. The kinetic rate of Co2+ adsorption was rapid initially and attained equilibrium within 60 min, and the data well fitted the Redlich-Peterson and the Elovich model, implying a chemisorption dominated process.

Preparation, characterization and application in cobalt ion adsorption using nanoparticle films of hybrid copper-nickel hexacyanoferrate.

Different mole ratios (n Cu : n Ni = x : y) of hybrid copper-nickel metal hexacyanoferrates (Cu x Ni y HCFs) were prepared to explore their morphologies, structure, electrochemical properties and the feasibility of electrochemical adsorption of cobalt ions. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the x : y ratio of Cu x Ni y HCF nanoparticles can be easily controlled as designed using a wet chemical coprecipitation method. The crystallite size and formal potential of Cu x Ni y HCF films showed an insignificant change when 0 ≤ x : y < 0.3. Given the shape of the CV curves, this might be due to Cu2+ ions being inserted into the NiHCF framework as countercations to maintain the electrical neutrality of the structure. On the other hand, crystallite size depended linearly on the x : y ratio when x : y > 0.3. This is because Cu tended to replace Ni sites in the lattice structure at higher molar ratios of x : y. Cu x Ni y HCF films inherited good electrochemical reversibility from the CuHCFs, in view of the cyclic voltammograms; in particular, Cu1Ni2HCF exhibited long-term cycling stability and high surface coverage. The adsorption of Co2+ fitted the Langmuir isotherm model well, and the kinetic data can be well described by a pseudo-second order model, which may imply that Co2+ adsorption is controlled by chemical adsorption. The diffusion process was dominated by both intraparticle diffusion and surface diffusion.