Sulfur- and Nitrogen-Functionalized Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Materials for Enhanced Arsenic Batch Adsorption
The adsorption of arsenic in aqueous solutions was successfully achieved by using functionalized Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> materials. This process is important since arsenic in water is extremely toxic to humans and the environment. The adsorbent materials were prepared by functionalizing Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> with sulfur and nitrogen species using different precursors. Several advanced analytical techniques (N<sub>2</sub> adsorption-desorption isotherms at -196 °C, FTIR, TGA, XPS, and pH<sub>pzc</sub>) were used to characterize the functionalized Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> adsorbents and study the success of the preparation methods. Arsenic adsorption capacity depends on a combination of factors: solution pH, electrostatic interactions, surface modifications, and coexisting substances. The <i>q</i><sub>max</sub> obtained for this study using the Langmuir model was found to be 246 mg/g at pH 3 for Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>functionalized with NH<sub>3</sub>. This is due to electrostatic interactions and functional groups at the adsorbent surface. Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>@NH<sub>3</sub> also showed high adsorption capacities for As removal in the real water matrix.
Authors
- Cátia Freitas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0325-691X)
- Carolina Scaraffuni Gomes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6185-8946)
- João Marcelo Alvarenga Braga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8937-6164)
- Roberto D’Amato (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8519-0568)
- Juliana P. S. Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8941-786X)
Institutions
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Langmuir
- Published
- 2025-06-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c00965
- Primary Topic
- Arsenic contamination and mitigation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia