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Comparison of the effect of various carbon-based nanomaterials for the removal of Cu2+ ions from aqueous solutions

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Abstract

Water pollution caused by heavy metals is one of the most important issues threatening the environment. The study, presented here was focused on the removal of heavy metal Cu2+ ions from aqueous solution by using pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (p-MWCNT), acid treated MWCNTs (a-MWCNTs) and unzipped MWCNTs (u-MWCNTs). The size dependency of MWCNTs on the adsorption of Cu2+ ions was evaluated. Moreover, pH, adsorbent dosage, initial metal ion concentration and temperature effects on the adsorption process were explored. The maximum adsorption efficiency was found to be 98.5% for u-MWCNTs that is fabricated from the layered MWCNTs having an outer diameter of 50–80 nm and an inner diameter of 10–20 nm at 0.5 g L−1 adsorbent mass. The absorption kinetic data fitted best to the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic assessments indicated that the adsorption was endothermic and randomness process.

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The data sets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

The present work was realized as a part of F-435 projects supported by Cumhuriyet University Scientific Research Council. The Authors are also grateful to Dr. Ümit Nazlı TEMEL for helping with the production of carbon-based materials in research laboratories.

Funding

This study was funded by Cumhuriyet University Scientific Research Council (Grant No. F-435).

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  1. Faculty of Science, Chemistry Department, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, 58140, Sivas, Turkey

    Nuket Kartal Temel & Kadriye Sibel Sertakan

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  1. Nuket Kartal Temel
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Sertakan KS; conceptualization, methodology, investigation, visualization, writing—original draft. Kartal Temel N; conceptualization, supervision, methodology, investigation, writing—review & editing.

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Correspondence to Nuket Kartal Temel.

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Temel, N.K., Sertakan, K.S. Comparison of the effect of various carbon-based nanomaterials for the removal of Cu2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Chem. Pap. 78, 833–849 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-023-03125-3

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