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Efficient mercury removal from aqueous solutions using carboxylated Ti3C2Tx MXene
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Efficient mercury removal from aqueous solutions using carboxylated Ti3C2Tx MXene

Ali Pournaghshband Isfahani, Ahmad A. Shamsabadi, Farbod Alimohammadi and Masoud Soroush
Journal of hazardous materials, v 434, 128780
15 Jul 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128780
PMID: 35460992
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128780View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access (Publisher-Specific),  Open

Abstract

Carboxylation Degradation Mercury-ion removal Ti3C2Tx Adsorption
Water supplies contaminated with heavy metals are a worldwide concern. MXenes have properties that make them attractive for the removal of metal ions from water. This work presents a simple one-step method of Ti3C2Tx carboxylation that involves the use of a chelating agent with a linear structure, providing strong carboxylic acid groups with high mobility. The carboxylation decreases the zeta-potential of Ti3C2Tx by ~16 to ~18 mV over a pH range of 2.0–8.5 and improves Ti3C2Tx stability in the presence of molecular oxygen. pH in the range of 2–6 has a negligible effect on the adsorption capacity of Ti3C2Tx and COOH–Ti3C2Tx. Compared to Ti3C2Tx, COOH–Ti3C2Tx has a slightly higher and much faster mercury uptake, and the concentration of mercury ions leached out from COOH-Ti3C2Tx is lower. For both Ti3C2Tx and COOH–Ti3C2Tx, the leached mercury ion concentration is far below the U.S.-EPA maximum level. At an initial Hg2+ concentration of 50 ppm and pH of 6, COOH–Ti3C2Tx has the equilibrium adsorption capacity of 499.7 mg/g and removes 95% of Hg2+ in less than 1 min. Moreover, it has an equilibrium time of 5 min, which is significantly shorter than that of Ti3C2Tx (~ 60 min). Finally, its mercury-ion uptake capacity is higher than commercially available adsorbents reported in the literature. Its mercury removal is mainly via chemisorption and monolayer adsorption. •A simple one-step method of Ti3C2Tx carboxylation that involves the use of a chelating agent is presented. •COOH–Ti3C2Tx showed the highest adsorption capacity of 499.7 mg/g and removed 95% of Hg2+ in less than 1 min•Hg2+ removal efficiencies of COOH–Ti3C2Tx and Ti3C2Tx declined to 93.6% and 85.1%, respectively, after 3 cycles. •The carboxylation decreased the zeta-potential value of Ti3C2 to −54 mV over a pH range of 2.0–8.5.•COOH–Ti3C2Tx exhibited higher and faster mercury uptake than the pristine Ti3C2Tx.

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46 citations in Web of Science
44 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#6 Clean Water and Sanitation

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Engineering, Environmental
Environmental Sciences
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