Facile hydrothermal preparation of S-doped Fe3O4@C nanoparticles for Cu2+ removal

• S-doped Fe3O4@C nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal method for water treatment.
• S-doped Fe3O4@C nanoparticles showed a huge adsorption capacity of 54.7 mg/g for Cu2+.
• S-doped Fe3O4@C nanoparticles could be magnetically separated and easily regenerated after adsorbing pollutant.

Magnetic carbon nanoadsorbents are widely applied in heavy metal decontamination, but the low adsorption capacities largely limit their practical uses. Herein, we reported the hydrothermal preparation of S doped Fe3O4 core–carbon shell nanoparticles (S-doped Fe3O4@C NPs) as recyclable adsorbent for Cu2+ removal. The adsorption capacity of S-doped Fe3O4@C NPs was over 54.7 mg/g, 10 times higher than that of active carbon, ranking S-doped Fe3O4@C NPs among the most effective adsorbents. The remnant Cu2+ concentrations were lower than 1.0 mg/L, which reached the criteria of drinking water. Moreover, S-doped Fe3O4@C NPs could be magnetically separated and easily regenerated after adsorbing Cu2+.

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