Removal of Cr(VI) and Ag(I) by grafted magnetic zeolite/chitosan for water purification: Synthesis and adsorption mechanism.

In this paper, a novel grafted zeolite/FeO/chitosan (ZMC-MAH-TEPA) adsorbent was greenly synthesized and evaluated for the removal of Cr(VI) and Ag(I) in single and bi-component solutions. The characterization data of XRF, XRD, FT-IR, VSM, TGA, BET and SEM showed the successful fabrication of the adsorbent with abundant -NH and -NH- as well as great recovery properties (11.70 emu/g). The effects of experimental parameters, including pH value, initial concentration, temperature, time, and coexisting ions on single and bi-component adsorption, were investigated. The results demonstrated that the adsorption capacities increased with the enhanced shaking time and concentration until equilibrium was reached. The optimum pH value was 3 for Cr(VI) adsorption and 5 for Ag(I) adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacities for Cr(VI) and Ag(I) ions, obtained by the Langmuir model, were 50.75 and 70.12 mg·g in single metal solutions and 45.45 and 58.94 mg·g in bi-component metal solutions (Cr(VI)/Ag(I) = 1:1), respectively. Additionally, the adsorption mechanism of Cr(VI) and Ag(I) was explained in terms of electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding between metal ions and -NH and -NH- in ZMC-MAH-TEPA. Taken together, this study provides a clean approach to synthesizing chitosan-based adsorbents for the efficient removal of Cr(VI) and Ag(I) ions.