Phosphine functionalised multiwalled carbon nanotubes: A new adsorbent for the removal of nickel from aqueous solution
Muleja Anga Adolph , Yangkou Mbianda Xavier
,
Pillay Kriveshini
,
Krause Rui
DOI:10.1016/S1001-0742(11)60880-2
Received July 09, 2011,Revised November 07, 2011, Accepted , Available online June 01, 2012
Volume 24,2012,Pages 1133-1141
Synthesised triphenylphosphine-linked multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Tpp-MWCNTs) were used to study the adsorption of nickel in aqueous solutions and their adsorption capabilities were compared with purified MWCNTs. The adsorption capacity increased with an increase in pH for all adsorbents. The adsorption equilibrium was reached in 40 and 30 min for purified MWCNTs and Tpp-MWCNTs, respectively. Both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms used to investigate the adsorption process fitted the experimental data well with the correlation coefficient R2 close to 1 for all adsorbents. On the other hand, the experimental data fitted well with a pseudo second-order model. The speciation of nickel also influenced the adsorption on the purified and Tpp-MWCNTs. The adsorbents used in this study showed superior adsorption capacity when compared to other adsorbents reported in the literature.
