Porous Polyvinyl Formaldehyde / MWCNTs Foam for Pb+2 Removal from Water

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University, 11884 Cairo, Egypt

2 Spectroscopy Department., Physics Division., National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Preparation of macro-porous polyvinyl formaldehyde / multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PVF/MWCNTs) foam was done via one step reaction during acetalization of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The as-prepared PVF/MWCNTs composite was used as an eco-friendly, easy recovery sorbets for Pb (II) from aqueous medium. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) were used to investigate the chemical composition and morphological structure of the prepared foam. The results showed that equilibrium occurred within 60 min at pH≈ 5 with a maximum adsorption capacity 3.4 mg/g with 43 % removal (considering the total weight of composite). In addition, the kinetic results are most fitted with pseudo-second-order model indicating that the reaction mechanism is chemisorption in nature. Therefore, it is suggested that the prepared PVF/MWCNTs foam can be used in water treatment systems as an eco-friendly and efficiency sorbent.

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