Preparation of nanoscale zero-valent iron supported on chelating resin with nitrogen donor atoms for simultaneous reduction of Pb2+ and NO3-

•Chelate resin DOW 3N was used as supporter of nanoscale Fe0 for the first time.•Nanoscale Fe0 particles were well dispersed with the grain size of 10–30 nm.•NZVI-DOW 3N can remove cation and anion contaminants simultaneously.

Polymeric ion exchanger has been proven to be an excellent carrier for metal nanoparticles due to chemical stability and robust mechanical strength. However, polymeric ion exchanger containing non-diffusible negatively or positively charged groups can only permit cation or anion contaminants to permeate into the polymer phase due to Donnan exclusion effect. In this study, zero-valent iron nanoparticles (NZVI) were immobilized within a chelating resin DOW 3N with pyridine functional groups through NaBH4 reduction. TEM indicated that Fe0 particles were clearly discrete and well dispersed on the surface of DOW 3N with grain size ranging from 10 to 30 nm. The reduction ability of NZVI-DOW 3N for Pb2+, NO3- and their mixture were evaluated, respectively. The results showed that NO3- and Pb2+ can be reduced efficiently. In a binary solution, the removal efficiencies of NO3- and Pb2+ can reach 87% and 97%, respectively.