Capture of toxic radioactive and heavy metal ions from water by using titanate nanofibers

•Three types of titanate nanofibers were prepared via a hydrothermal porcess.•These nanofibers show availability for removal of the toxic ions from water.•The equilibrium data were fitted well with the Langmuir model.

Three types of titanate nanofibers (sodium titanate nanofibers (TNF-A), potassium/sodium titanate nanofibers (TNF-B), potassium titanate nanofibers (TNF-C)) were prepared via a hydrothermal treatment of anatase powders in different alkali solutions at 170 °C for 96 h, respectively. The as-prepared nanofibers have large specific surface area and show availability for the removal of radioactive and heavy metal ions from water system, such as Ba2+ (as substitute of 226Ra2+) and Pb2+ ions. The TNF-A shows a better capacity in the removal of Ba2+ and Pb2+ than TNF-B and TNF-C. Structural characterization of the materials was performed with powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). It is found that the equilibrium data fit well with the Langmuir model. This study highlights that nanoparticles of inorganic ion exchangers with layered structure are potential materials for efficient removal of the toxic ions from contaminated water.

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