Carbon-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles as separable and mobile sorbents of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions

Carbon-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles (CEMNPs) are studied as mobile sorbents for removal of heavy metal ions (Cu2+, Co2+, Cd2+) from aqueous solutions. The ion uptakes achieve 95% for cadmium and copper. CEMNPs-based sorbents also have excellent adsorption capacities (between 1.23 and 3.21 mg/g), which are considerably higher than the capacities of activated carbons (between 0.37 and 0.39 mg/g).