Rapid and economical synthesis of magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube/iron oxide composite and its application in preconcentration of U(VI)

Magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube/iron oxide composite (Fe3O4/MWCNT) was synthesized as an adsorbent for the preconcentration of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The surface properties of Fe3O4/MWCNT were characterized via adopting FTIR, SEM and potentiometric acid-base titration. The sorption behaviors of U(VI) on the surface of Fe3O4/MWCNT were investigated under environmental conditions by using batch technique, such as pH, ionic strength and contact time. The pH-dependent U(VI) sorption behavior on Fe3O4/MWCNT illustrated that sorption mechanism of U(VI) was achieved by outer-sphere surface complexation at low pH values, while the sorption of U(VI) was achieved by inner-sphere surface complexation and simultaneous precipitation at high pH values. Besides, the pH-dependent sorption also demonstrated an optimal and feasible pH value of 7.0 by adopting Fe3O4/MWCNT in the preconcentration of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The sorption kinetic experimental data could be well simulated by using the pseudo-second-order pattern. The Langmuir and Freundlich patterns were employed to simulate sorption isotherms of U(VI) at three different temperatures, the experimental results demonstrated that sorption process was favorable at higher environmental temperature. The maximum sorption capacity of U(VI) on Fe3O4/MWCNT was higher than that of major materials reported. Related experimental data further indicated that Fe3O4/MWCNT had satisfactory treatment performance for the simulated wastewater. The Fe3O4/MWCNT particles having strong magnetism could be favorably and easily separated from aqueous solution under an external magnetic field. The correlative experimental results further demonstrated that the Fe3O4/MWCNT composite could be a promising adsorbent for the preconcentration of radionuclides from large volumes of aqueous solution.