Removal of polychlorinated biphenyls from aqueous solutions using β-cyclodextrin grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Cyclodextrins have excellent ability in the preconcentration of organic pollutants from aqueous solutions by forming inclusion complexes. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) possess high adsorption capacity in the removal of organic pollutants through the formation of conjugated complexes. In this paper, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) was grafted on the surfaces of MWCNTs by using plasma technique. The β-CD grafted MWCNTs (MWCNT-g-CD) were characterized by using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy in detail. The prepared MWCNT-g-CD were used to remove polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from aqueous solutions under ambient conditions. The results suggest that MWCNT-g-CD have much higher adsorption capacity than MWCNTs in the removal of PCBs from aqueous solutions. MWCNT-g-CD are suitable materials in the preconcentration and immobilization of PCBs from large volumes of aqueous solutions in environmental pollution cleanup.