A novel hydrated zirconium oxide (ZrO(OH)2) coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was prepared via a filtration-steam hydrolysis method, and was used to remove As (III) and As (V) from drinking water. This adsorbent was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The ZrO(OH)2 coated on the surface of CNTs was found to be amorphous, the coating thickness of ZrO(OH)2 was in the range of 1-8 nm. The ZrO(OH)2/CNTs nanocomposite showed high adsorption performance for both As (III) and As (V) with the maximum adsorption capacities 78.21 and 124.64 mg/g, respectively, fitting by the Langmuir model. In comparison to pure ZrO(OH)2, ZrO(OH)2/CNTs nanocomposite has better performance in the adsorption capacity and kinetics. The adsorption capacities of ZrO(OH)2/CNTs at the equilibrium concentration of 10 ppb were 2 for As (III) and 10 mg/g for As (V), much higher than that of ZrO(OH)2 nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the adsorption rate constant (K) of ZrO(OH)2/CNTs are higher than that of ZrO(OH)2 nanoparticles for As (III) and As (V), resulting in the shorter adsorption equilibrium time. Moreover, the adsorbent can be successfully regenerated by re-coating the ZrO(OH)2 as the synthesis method of ZrO(OH)2/CNTs, and the adsorption capacity of the ZrO(OH)2/CNTs is stable within five cycles. This ZrO(OH)2/CNTs nanocomposite shows a promising application potential for the removal of As (III) and As (V) from drinking water.

As (III) and As (V) adsorption by nanocomposite of hydrated zirconium oxide coated carbon nanotubes

254th National Meeting (2017)

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