Synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubeâhydroxyapatite
Transcription
Synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubeâhydroxyapatite
Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Molecular Liquids journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/molliq Synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotube–hydroxyapatite composites and its application in the sorption of Co(II) from aqueous solutions Zhengjie Liu a, b, Lei Chen a,⁎, Zengchao Zhang a, Yueyun Li a, Yunhui Dong a, Yubing Sun b a b School of Chemical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255049, PR China Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, PR China a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 3 November 2012 Received in revised form 6 December 2012 Accepted 6 December 2012 Available online 20 December 2012 Keywords: Co(II) MWCNT–HAP Sorption pH FA/HA a b s t r a c t In this paper, multi-walled carbon nanotube–hydroxyapatite (MWCNT–HAP) composites were synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and used as an original adsorbent for Co(II) sorption from aqueous solutions. The sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites was investigated as a function of contact time, pH, foreign ions, fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA) and temperature. The results indicated that K+, Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ ions restrained Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites at low pH. In the whole pH ranges, anions (i.e., ClO4−, NO3− and Br− herein) made no obvious effect on Co(II) sorption, while F− ions dramatically enhanced Co(II) sorption. The presence of FA and HA enhanced Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites at low pH values, but suppressed Co(II) sorption at high pH values. The Freundlich and Langmuir models were used to imitate the Co(II) sorption isotherms at three different temperatures. The thermodynamic data (ΔG 0, ΔS 0, and ΔH 0) counted from the temperature dependent sorption isotherms suggested that the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The high sorption capacity of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites suggested that the MWCNT–HAP composites were suitable materials in heavy metal pollution cleanup. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Heavy metal pollution is a worldwide environmental problem because of its toxicity to living creatures and other negative effects on the receiving soils and waters. Therefore, the removal of noxious heavy metals is crucial in environmental pollution cleanup. Many methods have been applied to remove noxious metals such as precipitation [1], ion exchange [2], coagulation [3], membrane processes [4] and sorption [5,6]. Cobalt, one of the common toxic metals affecting the environment, is widely present in industrious wastewater, cobaltbearing mineral mining and nuclear wastewater. Cobalt is suspected to cause memory loss in humans and is reported to induce neurotoxicity in animal experiments [7]. Carbon nanomaterials play a major role in environmental pollution management. The interaction between metal ions and carbon nanomaterials has been reported intensively [8,9]. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most widely used materials in heavy metal pollution cleanup. Since the find of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by Iijima in 1991 [10], the unique physicochemical properties of CNTs, such as their particular structural, electrical, physical, electro-mechanical and mechanical properties, have made them an important platform in nanoscience [11]. These prominent properties make them promising ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Chen). 0167-7322/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2012.12.011 materials for various applications, such as energy storage [12], chemical sensors [13] and nanoelectronic devices [14]. The CNTs possess high sorption capacity for the removal of various pollutants from water due to their large surface areas and their ability to build electrostatic interactions, and CNTs have aroused great interests in environmental pollution management [8,15–17]. CNTs have shown exceptional sorption capabilities and high sorption efficiencies for a number of organic pollutants, such as naphthol, phenol, aniline and their substitutes [18–20]. In addition, CNTs were also found to be superior adsorbents for heavy metal ions [21]. Although the CNTs have high sorption capacity for different organic and inorganic pollutants, the CNTs still do not have high selectivity for special pollutants. The surface modification of CNTs to graft special functional groups can improve the high selectivity of CNTs in the sorption of pollutants [22]. Shao et al. [23,24] modified the surface properties of CNTs by using plasma technique, and the plasma surface grafted CNTs improved the sorption of CNTs in the removal of Pb(II), U(VI) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions. Hydroxyapatite (HAP, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), a major inorganic constituent of teeth and bones [25], has recently attracted considerable attention in the field of environment for its use as an adsorbent for the sorption of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions because of its superior ion exchange ability [26]. As HAP is easily synthesized from wastes such as waste gypsum, waste shell and cow bone, it is becoming a promising material for the remediation of soil and wastewater. However, HAP is usually supposed in powder and calcined Z. Liu et al. / Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 2. Experimental section 2.1. Chemicals All chemicals used in this study were purchased as analytically pure and used without any further depuration. Milli-Q water was used in this study. Humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) were extracted from the soil samples of Hua-Jia Ridge of Gansu province (China). The main constituents of FA were: C: 50.15%, O: 39.56%, H: 4.42%, N: 5.38%, and S: 0.49%; and those of HA were: O: 31.31%, C: 60.44%, H: 3.53%, N: 4.22%, and S: 0.50% [29]. 2.2. Synthesis of MWCNT–HAP composites The MWCNTs in 3 mol/L nitric acid were sonicated for 20 min, and then refluxed for 12 h at 90 °C to gain the carboxyl functional groups (MWCNT–COOH). Then the compound was filtered under vacuum through a 0.45 μm Millipore polycarbonate membrane and washed with Milli-Q water until the pH value of the filtrate was ~ 6.0. The derived MWCNT–COOH was dried for 24 h at 100 °C under vacuum. The MWCNT–HAP composites were prepared according to a research study with some modification [30]. Typically, 20 mg of MWCNT– COOH was reacted with 5 mL of 0.02 mol/L calcium chloride aqueous solution and stirred for 1 h. Then, 5 mL of 0.02 mol/L aqueous solution of sodium phosphate dibasic was added dropwise with continuous stirring for 1 h. Thus derived samples were filtered and washed several times with Milli-Q water to separate other unreacted reagents and byproducts. Finally, the composites were dried under vacuum for 24 h at 50 °C, and used in the following experiments. 2.3. Characterization of MWCNT–HAP nanocomposites The MWCNT–HAP sample was characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry (PE2000). The spectral resolution was set to 1 cm −1, and 150 scans were collected for every spectrum. The XRD pattern was determined from a D/Max-rB equipped with a rotation anode using Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.15406 nm). The XRD device was operated at 80 mA and 40 kV. The morphology of the material was observed using a field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM, Sirion200, FEI Corp., Holland). The sample was grinded using an agate mortar and pestle and ultrasonically dispersed in alcohol. Then it was placed on a micro grid of silicon, and diverted to the analysis chamber in the SEM. 2.4. Batch sorption experiments All the sorption experiments were conducted by using batch technique in polyethylene centrifuge tubes. The stock suspensions of MWCNT–HAP and NaCl solution were pre-equilibrated for 48 h and then a known volume of Co(II) solutions of varying initial concentrations was added. The pH was corrected to desired values with negligible volumes of 1.0 or 0.1 M HCl or NaOH. After equilibrium, the liquid and solid phases were separated by centrifugation at 9000 rpm for 20 min. The distribution coefficient (Kd) and sorption percentage (%) were calculated from the following equations: Kd ¼ C 0 −C e V m Ce Sorption % ¼ ð1Þ C 0 −C e 100% C0 ð2Þ where m (g) is the mass of MWCNT–HAP and V (mL) is the volume of the solution. For desorption experiments, the suspension of attapulgite was centrifuged (9000 rpm, 20 min) at the end of the sorption experiments; half of the supernatant was pipetted out and an equal volume of background electrolyte solution with the same pH value was added. Then the mixture was shaken and centrifugation was done under the same conditions as in the sorption experiments. All measurements were the averages of triplicate determinations. The relative standard deviations of the data were about 5%. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Characterization of MWCNT–HA composites The FTIR spectrum of the MWCNT–HAP sample is shown in Fig. 1. The characteristic absorption peaks of the phosphate groups for HAP are observed at 565 cm −1, 611 cm −1 and 1033 cm −1, which are attributed to the P\O bond of PO43− stretching vibration and the corresponding deformation vibration [31]. In addition, the FTIR spectrum shows the characteristic peaks of the disordered structure of MWCNTs at 1391 cm −1 and the band at 3427 cm −1 corresponds to the characteristic band of \OH. The band at 1641 cm −1 is attributed Transmittance pellet forms, which is a disadvantage when recovering it after removing heavy metals from wastewater [25]. Several studies declared that polymer composites incorporating adsorbents provide an emerging method to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions [26–28]. For instance, HAP composites with cellulose, polyurethane and polyacrylamide were prepared and their removal property of heavy metal ions was examined. However, the MWCNT–HAP composites used as an adsorbent to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions have not been reported in early studies. Herein, we synthesized MWCNT–HAP composites by self assembly method through an aqueous solution reaction and studied their removal capacity of Co(II) from aqueous solutions. The MWCNTs have enough hydrophilic groups, thus make access of heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions easy while the MWCNT–HAP composites are expected to give no influence on the ion exchange reaction of HAP. The objectives of this study are: (1) to synthesize the MWCNT–HAP composites and to characterize the synthesized composites in detail; (2) to study the Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP as a function of shaking time, pH, foreign ions and humic substances; (3) to study the Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP at three different temperatures and calculate the thermodynamic data; (4) to discuss the mechanisms of Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP; and (5) to evaluate the possible application of the material in environmental pollution cleanup. 47 611 1391 565 1641 3427 1040 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Wavenumbers(cm-1) Fig. 1. FTIR spectrum of the MWCNT–HAP sample. 3500 4000 48 Z. Liu et al. / Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 75 Intensity Sorption(%) 60 45 30 pH = 5.5 ± 0.1 pH = 6.0 ± 0.1 pH = 6.5 ± 0.1 15 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 70 5 10 Fig. 2. XRD pattern of the MWCNT–HAP sample. to the C_O band [5,32]. These results indicate the formation of HAP on the matrix of MWCNTs. Fig. 2 shows the XRD pattern of the synthesized MWCNT–HAP composites. The diffraction peaks of the planes at 2θ = 25.86°, 31.78°, 32.9° and 39.84 are the characteristic peaks of HAP [31]. In addition, the diffraction peak at 25.86° for MWCNTs attributing to hexagonal graphite planes was consistent with the planes of HAP. Fig. 3 displays the SEM image of the MWCNT–HAP composites. The SEM image shows that an entangled reticulation of MWCNTs with clusters of HAP attached to them, indicates that HAP is bounded on the surfaces of MWCNTs and forms MWCNT–HAP composites. 3.2. Time-dependent sorption The sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites as a function of contact time was investigated at three different pH values (5.5± 0.1, 6.0 ± 0.1, and 6.5± 0.1). As one can see from Fig. 4, the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP occurs quickly and 5 h of contact time can achieve the sorption equilibrium. The sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT– HAP increases with increasing pH. The functional groups of MWCNT– HAP composites contribute to the uptake of Co(II) and the properties of these functional groups are affected by pH values. The surface properties of MWCNT–HAP are influenced by pH values, thus influence Co(II) sorption. The whole sorption dynamic process can be divided into two steps: an initial fast sorption, followed by a much slower sorption. The fast Co(II) sorption rate in the beginning of the contact time is 15 20 25 Time(h) 2Theta(degree) Fig. 4. Effect of contact time on Co(II) sorption to MWCNT–HAP, T = 293 K, m / V = 0.6 g/L, C[Co(II)]initial = 1.69 × 10−4 mol/L, I = 0.01 M NaCl. owing to the rapid diffusion of Co(II) from the solution to the outer surfaces of the MWCNT–HAP. The subsequent slow sorption process is due to the longer diffusion range of Co(II) into the inner pores of MWCNT– HAP composites or the exchange with cations in the inner surface of MWCNT–HAP composites [33]. According to the above results, the contact time was fixed to 24 h in the following experiments to achieve complete equilibrium. A pseudo-second-order rate equation is used to simulate the kinetic sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP [5]: t 1 1 ¼ þ t qt 2k′ qe 2 qe ð3Þ where qt (mg/g) is the amount of Co(II) ions adsorbed on the surface of MWCNT–HAP at time t (h), and qe (mg/g) is the equilibrium sorption capacity. k′ (g/(mg·h)) represents the rate constant of pseudosecond-order kinetics. Fig. 5 shows the linear plot of t / qt versus t. The qe and k′ values counted from the intercept and slope of the linear plot of t /qt versus t are shown in Table 1. The correlation coefficient (R2) for the pseudo-second-order is very close to 1 (R2 = 0.999), suggesting that the sorption system of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP can be described by the pseudo-second-order process well. 3.0 2.5 pH = 5.5 ± 0.1 pH = 6.0 ± 0.1 pH = 6.5 ± 0.1 t/qt(h g/mg) 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0 5 10 15 20 25 Time(h) Fig. 3. SEM image of the MWCNT–HAP sample. Fig. 5. Pseudo-second-order rate simulation of Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP. T = 293 K, m / V= 0.6 g/L, C[Co(II)]initial = 1.69 × 10−4 mol/L. Z. Liu et al. / Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 Table 1 Kinetic parameters of Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP at different pH values. pH Pseudo-second-order 5.5 6.0 6.5 Cs (mg/g) K (g·mg−1·min−1) R2 8.9 9.6 10.5 0.107 0.131 0.230 0.999 0.999 0.999 3.3. Effect of anions Fig. 6A shows the effect of monovalent anions on the sorption of Co(II) from aqueous solution to MWCNT–HAP as a function of pH values ranging from 3.0 to 11.0 in 0.01 M NaCl, NaNO3 and NaClO4 solutions, respectively. The results indicate that the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP is not influenced by the background electrolyte foreign anions. The radius order of the three inorganic acid radicals is ClO4− > NO3− > Cl − [5]. The negatively charged inorganic anions may form complexes with the functional groups on the surfaces of MWCNT– HAP. However, the effects of Cl −, NO3− or ClO4− on Co(II) sorption to MWCNT–HAP are still very weak, suggesting that surface complexes are formed on MWCNT–HAP surfaces. The effect of monovalent anions on Co(II) sorption from a solution to MWCNT–HAP can be negligible. The result is similar to Ni(II) sorption on GMZ bentonite [5]. However, the sorption of Th(IV) on Na-bentonite was influenced by foreign anions [34]. The results demonstrate that the influence of foreign anions on heavy metal ion sorption is influenced by many factors, such as the properties of the adsorbent, the properties of the metal ions and other environmental parameters such as pH and temperature [35]. Fig. 6B shows the effect of halogen ions on the sorption of Co(II) to MWCNT–HAP composites in 0.01 mol/L NaBr, NaF and NaCl solutions. As can be seen from Fig. 6B the presence of F − promotes the sorption of Co(II) dramatically, while no obvious difference is observed in the presence of Br − and Cl − ions. A previous study reported that F − can be adsorbed on an adsorbent surface easily in an acidic range via the ion exchange reaction [36]. The crystal radius of Cl − (1.81 Å) and that of Br − (1.95 Å) are much higher than that of F − (1.36 Å) [37], which contributes partially to this result. Because of the great influence of F − on the sorption, more researches and attentions are necessary to study the mechanism of the mediate role of F − on Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites. 3.4. Effect of cations The sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP as a function of pH in 0.01 M LiCl, NaCl and KCl, is shown in Fig. 7A. One can see that the Co(II) A A 100 100 80 Sorption(%) 80 Sorption(%) 49 60 40 NaCl 0.01mol/L NaNO3 0.01mol/L 20 60 40 LiCl 0.01mol/L NaCl 0.01mol/L KCl 0.01mol/L 20 NaClO4 0.01mol/L 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 pH 10 12 B B 100 100 80 80 Sorption(%) Sorption(%) 8 pH 60 40 NaF 0.01mol/L NaCl 0.01mol/L NaBr 0.01mol/L 20 0 60 40 0 2 4 6 8 10 NaCl 0.01mol/L MgCl2 0.01mol/L 20 12 pH Fig. 6. Effect of anions on Co(II) sorption to MWCNT–HAP. T = 293 K, m / V = 0.6 g/L, C[Co(II)]initial = 1.69 × 10−4 mol/L. CaCl2 0.01mol/L 2 4 6 8 10 12 pH Fig. 7. Effect of cations on Co(II) sorption to MWCNT–HAP. T = 293 K, m / V= 0.6 g/L, C[Co(II)]initial = 1.69 × 10−4 mol/L. 50 Z. Liu et al. / Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 sorption is clearly influenced by the cations. The sorption percentage of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP at pH b 9.0 is in the sequence: Li+ > Na+ > K +, which is similar to the order of their radii of hydrations: K + = 2.32, Na+ = 2.76 and Li+ = 3.4 Å [38]. The results indicate that the cations may alter the surface properties of MWCNT–HAP and thus affects the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP surfaces. Before the addition of Co(II), Li+/Na+/K + ions have achieved sorption equilibration on MWCNT–HAP surfaces. The sorption can be regarded as an exchange of Co(II) with surface adsorbed Li+/Na+/K + ions. The radius of K + is smallest in those of the three cations and therefore K + ion has the highest affinity to the surface of MWCNT–HAP and the highest direction for counter-ion exchange with the surface functional groups of MWCNT–HAP, which reduces Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites. However, at pH> 9.0, no obvious difference of Co(II) sorption in LiCl, NaCl and KCl solutions is observed, which is attributed to the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes or surface precipitates at high pH values. Fig. 7B shows the effect of divalent cations (Ca 2+ and Mg 2+) on the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites. The sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites in the presence of Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ ions is lower than that of Co(II) in the presence of Na + and no obvious difference is observed in the sorption curves of Co(II) in A 100 Sorption(%) 80 60 40 FA 20mg/L FA 10mg/L no FA 20 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 the presence of Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ ions. Harter and Naidu [39] declared that the sorption of cations decreased with the increasing valence of competitive cations because the increasing of cation valence can make the potential in the level of sorption less negative at pH b pHpzc (point of zero charge). The higher valent ions are much more strongly and easily adsorbed by MWCNT–HAP, and the divalent cations could occupy two sites by forming complexes via ion charge reactions. 3.5. Effects of FA and HA Humic substances (HS) are a main portion of dissolved natural organic compounds which influence the transport and sorption of metal ions and radionuclides significantly. Fig. 8A and B shows the effects of FA and HA on Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites. As can be seen from Fig. 8A and B, the presence of FA/HA enhances the Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP at pH b 7.0 and then the sorption decreases with the increasing of pH at pH > 7.0. The sorption curve of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP in the presence of 20 mg/L FA/HA is higher than that of Co(II) in the presence of 10 mg/L FA/HA at pH b 7.0, while the sorption curve of Co(II) in the presence of 20 mg/L FA/HA is lower than that of Co(II) in the presence of 10 mg/L FA/HA at pH > 7.0. At low pH values, the negatively charged FA/HA are easily adsorbed on the MWCNT–HAP surface, which provides more functional groups to form complexes with Co(II) and therefore improves Co(II) sorption. However, the sorption of Co(II) is reduced with increasing HA/FA concentration in high pH values. With increasing pH, the negatively charged HA/FA become difficult to be adsorbed on the negatively charged MWCNT–HAP. The residual free HA/FA molecules in aqueous solutions can form soluble HS–Co complexes in a solution and thereby reduce Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP at high pH values, and the relative strength between the complexes of Co(II) with FA/HA in solution is larger than that of Co(II) with MWCNT–HAP, and thus results in the reducing sorption of Co(II) at high pH values. The results are very similar to that of Co(II) sorption on MX-80 bentonite [40]. 3.6. Effect of temperature and thermodynamic study 11 pH B The sorption isotherms of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites at T = 293, 313 and 333 K are shown in Fig. 9. One can see that the sorption process increases with increasing temperature, which indicates that the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP is favored at high temperature. The Langmuir and Freundlich equations are commonly used for describing adsorption equilibrium for water and wastewater treatment applications [41]. 100 2.5x10-4 80 60 Cs(mol/g) Sorption(%) 2.0x10-4 40 HA 20mg/L HA 10mg/L no HA 20 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1.0x10-4 333 K 313 K 293 K 5.0x10-5 0 2 1.5x10-4 11 pH Fig. 8. Effect of FA (A) and HA (B) on Co(II) sorption to MWCNT–HAP as a function of pH, T = 293 K, m / V= 0.6 g/L, C[Co(II)]initial = 1.69 × 10−4 mol/L, I = 0.01 M NaCl. 0.0 0.0 1.0x10-4 2.0x10-4 Ce(mol/L) Fig. 9. Sorption isotherms of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP at three different temperatures, pH = 6.0 ± 0.1, m/ V = 0.6 g/L, I = 0.01 M NaCl. Z. Liu et al. / Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 The Langmuir sorption isotherm assumed that sorption occurred at homogeneous and specific sites on the adsorbent, which can be expressed by the following equation [42]: Cs ¼ Table 2 The parameters for Langmuir and Freundlich at different temperatures. T (K) Langmuir Cs bC s max C e : 1 þ bC e ð4Þ 51 max (mol/g) −4 293 313 333 2.76 × 10 3.62 × 10−4 3.55 × 10−4 Freundlich R2 b (L/mol) 3 7.142 × 10 5.66 × 103 6.99 × 103 0.990 0.994 0.997 kF (mol1−n Ln/g) −2 6.4 × 10 7.6 × 10−2 3.7 × 10−2 n R2 0.665 0.696 0.634 0.986 0.986 0.971 The linear form of the Langmuir equation can be expressed as: Ce 1 Ce ¼ þ C s bC s max C s max ð5Þ It can be expressed in the line form: where Cs (mol/g) is the amount of Co(II) retained per unit weight of MWCNT–HAP at equilibrium; Ce (mol/L) is the equilibrium solution phase concentration of Co(II); Cs max (mol/g), is the maximum sorption capacity and b (L/mol) is a constant that relates the energy of sorption. The Freundlich sorption isotherm model is an empirical model and it is represented as [5]: n Cs ¼ K F Ce : ð6Þ A 1.4 293 K 313 K 333 K Ce/Cs(g/L) 1.2 1.0 0.8 logC s ¼ logK F þ n logC e where kF (mol 1 − nL n/g) is the sorption capacity when the Co(II) equilibrium concentration equals to 1 and n is the Freundlich constants related to the intensity of adsorption. The experimental datum of Co(II) sorption (Fig. 9) is simulated with Langmuir and Freundlich models and the results are displayed in Fig. 10. Table 2 shows the relative values counted from the two models. From the R 2 for Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, one can find that the Langmuir model fits the experimental datum better than the Freundlich model, which indicates that the sorption sites have equal energy [43]. What's more, MWCNT–HAP composites have a limited sorption capacity, so the sorption process could be described by the Langmuir model better, since an exponentially increasing sorption was supposed in the Freundlich model [44]. The values of Cs max calculated from the Langmuir model are the lowest at T = 293 K and the highest at T = 333 K, which indicates that Co(II) sorption is enhanced with high temperature. Thermodynamic parameters such as the Gibbs free energy change (ΔG 0), enthalpy change (ΔH 0), and entropy change (ΔS 0) for Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites are counted from the sorption isotherms. The value of ΔG 0 is counted from the following equation: 0 0.6 ΔG ¼ −RT ln K 0.4 0.0 4.0x10-5 8.0x10-5 1.2x10-4 1.6x10-4 2.0x10-4 2.4x10-4 Ce(mol/L) ð7Þ 0 ð8Þ where K 0 is the equilibrium constant. The values of lnK 0 are gained by plotting lnKd versus Ce (Fig. 11) and extrapolating Ce to zero. Constants of the linear fit of lnKd versus Ce for Co(II) sorption on B -3.6 -3.8 333 K 313 K 293 K 7.4 -3.9 LnKd(ml/g) LogCs(mol/g) 7.6 293 K 313 K 333 K -3.7 -4.0 -4.1 -4.2 7.2 7.0 6.8 -4.3 6.6 -4.4 -4.8 -4.6 -4.4 -4.2 -4.0 -3.8 -3.6 LogCe(mol/L) Fig. 10. Langmuir (A) and Freundlich (B) isotherms of Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP at three different temperatures, pH = 6.0 ± 0.1, m / V= 0.6 g/L, I = 0.01 M NaCl. 0.0 4.0x10-5 8.0x10-5 1.2x10-4 1.6x10-4 2.0x10-4 2.4x10-4 Ce(mol/L) Fig. 11. Linear plots of lnKd versus Ce of Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP. pH = 6. 0 ± 0.1, m / V= 0.6 g/L, I = 0.01 M NaCl. 52 Z. Liu et al. / Journal of Molecular Liquids 179 (2013) 46–53 Table 3 Constants of linear fit of lnKd vs. Ce (lnKd =A+BCe) for Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP. Table 5 Comparison of Co(II) sorption by various sorbents. T (K) A B R2 Sorbents Conditions Cs max (mg/g) References 293 313 333 7.45 7.54 7.72 −3795 −3458 −3795 0.994 0.995 0.988 Hydroxyapatite Magnetic MWCNTs/IO Palygorskite Nedalco sludge Eerbeek sludge Magnetite/graphene oxide MWCNT–HAP Lemon peel Al-pillared bentonite T = 303 T = 293 T = 308 T = 293 T = 293 T = 303 T = 293 T = 298 T = 303 7.90 8.84 8.88 11.71 12.45 12.98 16.26 25.64 38.61 [31] [46] [47] [48] [48] [49] This work [50] [51] Table 4 Values of thermodynamic parameters for Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP. T (K) ΔG0 (kJ/mol) ΔS0 (J/(mol·K)) ΔH0 (kJ/mol) 293 313 333 −18.15 −19.63 −21.38 80.75 5.52 5.66 5.52 3.7. Regeneration MWCNT–HAP composites are listed in Table 3. The value of the standard entropy change (ΔS 0) is counted from the equation: ∂ΔG0 ΔS ¼ − ∂T ! 0 K, pH = 6.0 K, pH = 6.4 K, pH = 6.0 K, pH = 7.0 K, pH = 7.0 K, pH = 6.8 K, pH = 6.0 K, pH = 6.0 K, pH = 6.0 : ð9Þ P The average standard enthalpy change (ΔH 0) is calculated from the equation: The repeated availability of MWCNT–HAP through many cycles of desorption/sorption was investigated to evaluate the application potential of MWCNT–HAP in the removal of Co(II) from wastewater in possible applications. Considering the loss of the MWCNT–HAP during each cycle, the amount of MWCNT–HAP and the volume of Co(II) solution were adjusted to the comparable measurement. As can be seen from Fig. 12, the sorption capacity of MWCNT–HAP to Co(II) decreases slightly from 5.64 mg/g to 5.45 mg/g after five rounds. The excellent regeneration capacity suggests that MWCNT– HAP composites can be used repeatedly as an effective adsorbent for the sorption of Co(II) from large volumes of aqueous solutions. 3.8. Comparison with other sorbents 0 0 0 ΔH ¼ ΔG þ TΔS : ð10Þ The values derived from Eqs. (8)–(10) are tabulated in Table 4. The positive value of ΔH 0 demonstrates that the Co(II) sorption is an endothermic process. In addition, sorption isotherms at different temperatures can also prove it. The negative values of ΔG 0 show the spontaneous sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP composites. The value of ΔG 0 decreases with the increase of temperature, indicating an increase in the sorption at high temperature. Cations are readily desolvated at high temperature, thus the sorption becomes more favorable. The positive values of ΔS 0 indicate the affinity of MWCNT–HAP toward Co(II) in aqueous solutions and some structure changes on the MWCNT–HAP [45]. The result of Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP is an endothermic and spontaneous process. The maximum Co(II) sorption capacities of MWCNT–HAP calculated from the Langmuir model equation were compared with other adsorbents reported in previous studies and were compiled in Table 5. Although a direct comparison of MWCNT–HAP with other adsorbents is difficult because of the different experimental conditions applied, it has been found that the sorption capacity of MWCNT–HAP is higher than that of other sorbents mentioned in Table 5. The high sorption capacity of MWCNT–HAP makes MWCNT–HAP an attractive sorbent for the removal of Co(II) from large volumes of aqueous solutions in Co(II) pollution cleanup. 4. Conclusions From the results of the Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP composites, one can gain the following conclusions: (1) The sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP is rather quick and the kinetic sorption process can be described by the pseudo-secondorder model well; (2) Foreign cations with different charges and radii influence the sorption of Co(II) on MWCNT–HAP significantly; (3) Anions (i.e., ClO4−, NO3− and Br−) make unobvious difference, while F− dramatically enhances the sorption in the whole pH; (4) The presence of FA and HA enhances Co(II) sorption on γ-Al2O3 at low pH values, but suppresses Co(II) sorption on MWCNT–HAP at high pH values; (5) The thermodynamic data counted from temperature dependent sorption isotherms indicates that the sorption reaction is an endothermic and spontaneous process; (6) The MWCNT–HAP composites are suitable materials in the preconcentration and solidification of Co(II) ions and other heavy metal ions from large volumes of aqueous solutions in real environmental pollution cleanup. 6.0 qe (mg/g) 5.5 5.0 4.5 1 2 3 4 5 Round Fig. 12. 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