Competitive Adsorption of Cu(II)-EDTA and Cd(II)-EDTA onto TiO2

Cu(II), EDTA, Cu(II)-EDTA, Cd(II)-EDTA, and Cu(II)/Cd(II) and Cu(II)-EDTA/Cd(II)-EDTA competitive adsorption onto TiO2 has been studied with variation of pH and concentration. For Cu(II) and EDTA, typical cationic and anionic types of adsorption are noted, respectively. Ligand-type adsorption is found for Cu(II)-EDTA and Cd(II)-EDTA under both single and competitive conditions. Surface complexation modeling considered inner-sphere complexation and the diffuse layer model employing MINTEQA2; surface complexes used include Ti-(OH2)O-Cu+, Ti-(OH)EDTAH-22, Ti-(OH)EDTA-Cu-2, and Ti-(OH)EDTA-Cd-2. Experimental and model predictions suggest no competitive adsorption between Cu(II) and Cd(II) at 5 x 10(-5) M. On the other hand, adsorption data and model predictions indicate that Cd(II)-EDTA adsorption is favored over that of Cu(II)-EDTA with some competition for adsorption sites. Cd(II)-EDTA adsorption was only slightly affected by the presence of Cu(II)-EDTA; however, Cu(II)-EDTA adsorption was strongly influenced by the presence of Cd(II)-EDTA, especially as the molar ratio of Cd(II)-EDTA/Cu(II)-EDTA increased. A modified surface complexation constant for Cd(II)-EDTA is required to explain the competitive data, suggesting surface site heterogeneity. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.