Cadmium removal in waste water by nanostructured TiO2 particles
Abstract
Nanostructured TiO2 dandelions and spherical flowers with an anatase structure were synthesized by a solvothermal method, and characterized by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, FT-IR, XPS and TG. The specific surface areas of the dandelions and spherical flowers were determined by BET to be 226 and 172 m2 g−1, respectively. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities of Cd(II) for the dandelions and spherical flowers were found to be 396 and 282 mg g−1, respectively, and both nanostructured TiO2 particles could be repeatedly used without any remarkable loss in adsorption capacity. The FT-IR, XPS and TG-MS analyses indicated that the Cd(II) adsorption was mainly ascribed to the hydroxyl groups on the TiO2 surfaces. Both nanostructured particles exhibited great potential for the removal of Cd(II) from wastewater in engineering practices.