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Synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanofibers for applications in removal and recovery of Cr(VI) from wastewater

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Abstract

Purpose

Nanomaterials such as iron oxides and ferrites have been intensively investigated for water treatment and environmental remediation applications. The purpose of this work is to synthesize α-Fe2O3 nanofibers for potential applications in removal and recovery of noxious Cr(VI) from wastewater.

Methods

α-Fe2O3 nanofibers were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal route followed by calcination. The crystallographic structure and the morphology of the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 nanofibers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted, and Fourier transform infrared spectra were recorded before and after adsorption to investigate the Cr(VI) removal performance and adsorption mechanism. Langmuir and Freundlich modes were employed to analyze the adsorption behavior of Cr(VI) on the α-Fe2O3 nanofibers.

Results

Very thin and porous α-Fe2O3 nanofibers have been successfully synthesized for investigation of Cr(VI) removal capability from synthetic wastewater. Batch experiments revealed that the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 nanofibers exhibited excellent Cr(VI) removal performance with a maximum adsorption capacity of 16.17 mg g−1. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity almost kept unchanged after recycling and reusing. The Cr(VI) adsorption process was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetics model, and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS° at 298 K were calculated to be −26.60 kJ mol−1, −3.32 kJ mol−1, and 78.12 J mol−1 K−1, respectively.

Conclusions

The as-prepared α-Fe2O3 nanofibers can be utilized as efficient low-cost nano-absorbents for removal and recovery of Cr(VI) from wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51071131), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0890), the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars ([2008]488), and the Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province (10CSPC-1-7). We would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Gupta for his suggestion for improving this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637000, People’s Republic of China

    Tongyan Ren, Ping He, Weiling Niu, Yanjun Wu, Lunhong Ai & Xinglong Gou

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  1. Tongyan Ren
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  2. Ping He
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  3. Weiling Niu
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  4. Yanjun Wu
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  5. Lunhong Ai
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  6. Xinglong Gou
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Correspondence to Xinglong Gou.

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Responsible Editor: Vinod Kumar Gupta

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Ren, T., He, P., Niu, W. et al. Synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanofibers for applications in removal and recovery of Cr(VI) from wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 155–162 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0842-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0842-z

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