Kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies of thiamethoxam adsorption by multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Because of their high adsorption capacity, carbon nanotubes have caught the attention of the scientific community and a number of experimental results confirmed their ability to adsorb many toxins from water. The aim of this work was to study the kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamics of thiametho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental science and technology (Tehran) 2017-06, Vol.14 (6), p.1297-1306
Main Authors: Panic, S., Guzsvány, V., Kónya, Z., Kukovecz, Á., Boskovic, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Science and Engineering
Original Paper
Soil Science & Conservation
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:Because of their high adsorption capacity, carbon nanotubes have caught the attention of the scientific community and a number of experimental results confirmed their ability to adsorb many toxins from water. The aim of this work was to study the kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamics of thiamethoxam adsorption by multi-walled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions. To further elucidate the influence of nanotube structure on the adsorption mechanism, the experiments were performed on both fresh (pristine) and nitric acid-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The results of the kinetic studies were analyzed using three kinetic models, while the adsorption equilibrium was tested against four different adsorption models. Based on the results, and the physico-chemical properties of the adsorbent and adsorbate, it is proposed that the dominant mechanism for thiamethoxam molecules attaching to multi-walled carbon nanotubes is caused by aromatic π–π interactions (electron donor–acceptor interactions). The results of thermodynamic calculations based on the adsorption data indicate the exothermic nature of the process, regardless of the carbon nanotube type used. The decrease in entropy and the consequent negative change in Gibbs free energy, as expected, confirm the spontaneity of thiamethoxam adsorption on both pristine and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes.
ISSN:1735-1472
1735-2630
DOI:10.1007/s13762-016-1237-3