A mesoporous titanium glycolate with exceptional adsorption capacity to remove multiple heavy metal ions in water

Abstract

A facile, green strategy is explored to obtain mesoporous titanium glycolate (Ti(OCH₂CH₂O)₂) via a one-pot hydrothermal reaction. The mesoporous Ti(OCH₂CH₂O)₂ nanomaterials take on a three-dimensional V-type stripe structure with a specific surface area of 246.5 m² g⁻¹ and present an excellent adsorption capacity of toxic heavy metal ions in aqueous solution, 225.73 mg g⁻¹ for Pb(II), 131.93 mg g⁻¹ for As(V) and 156.01 mg g⁻¹ for As(III) with fast adsorption rates. The removal mechanism was found to derive from the electrostatic interaction or coordination interaction between Ti(OCH₂CH₂O)₂ and heavy metal ions in aqueous solution since the mesoporous materials display a pH-dependent effect for arsenic removal.