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Enhanced adsorption of cationic Pb(II) and anionic Cr(VI) ions in aqueous solution by amino-modified nano-sized illite-smectite clay

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Abstract

A raw illite-smectite mixed-layered clay (RI/S) was ground for preparing nano-sized I/S clay (NI/S) and subsequently amino-functionalized via grafting of 3-aminopropyltrithoxysilane (APTES) (NH2-RI/S and NH2-NI/S, respectively). The samples were characterized by particle size analysis, specific surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si NMR). Compared to RI/S, NI/S has a narrow particle size distribution and appears in a platelet-like morphology due to the disintegration/exfoliation of RI/S after grinding. Based on the 29Si NMR spectra, the appearances of tri-silicate units indicate the chemically grafting of APTES molecules on NH2-RI/S and NH2-NI/S, respectively. NH2-NI/S can adsorb greater amounts of Pb(II) cations and Cr(VI) anions rather than NH2-RI/S since NH2-NI/S grafts more amounts of amine groups (-NH2). The isotherm data for adsorption of Pb(II) cations and Cr(VI) anions can be described by the Langmuir model at different temperatures (i.e., 10 °C, 30 °C, and 50 °C), respectively. The maximum adsorption amounts of Pb(II) cations and Cr(VI) anions onto NH2-NI/S calculated by the Langmuir isotherm model are 131.23 mg/g and 36.91 mg/g at 50 °C, respectively. The adsorptions of Pb(II) cations and Cr(VI) anions onto NH2-NI/S involve in the surface complexation of NI/S and amine groups.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Major Scientific and Technological Projects of Guangdong Province, China (No. 2015B090927002), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2015ZM102).

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  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Zhenyuan Li, Zhidong Pan & Yanmin Wang

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  1. Zhenyuan Li
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  2. Zhidong Pan
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  3. Yanmin Wang
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Correspondence to Yanmin Wang.

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Highlights

• Nano-sized illite-smectite (NI/S) clay was prepared in a high-energy density stirred bead mill.

• NI/S was amino-functionalized via grafting of 3-aminopropyltrithoxysilane (NH2-NI/S).

• Amino-functionalization enhanced the adsorption amounts of Pb(II) cations and Cr(VI) anions in aqueous solution.

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Li, Z., Pan, Z. & Wang, Y. Enhanced adsorption of cationic Pb(II) and anionic Cr(VI) ions in aqueous solution by amino-modified nano-sized illite-smectite clay. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 11126–11139 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04447-0

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