Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
Synthesis of Cationized Magnetoferritin for Ultra-fast Magnetization of Cells
Published on: December 13, 2016
Kinetics of cadmium(II) uptake by mixed maghemite-magnetite nanoparticles
Saidur Rahman Chowdhury1, Ernest K Yanful
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada.
Abstract:
In the present study, batch adsorption experiments involving the adsorption of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions have been carried out using mixed maghemite-magnetite as adsorbent. The uptake capacity of Cd(II) ions by mixed maghemite-magnetite increased with an increase in the pH of the adsorbate solution. An increase in adsorbent dosage increased Cd(II) removal but decreased adsorption capacity and it was found to follow the pseudo-second-order model. Cd removal from a solution containing 1.5 mg/L initial concentration of Cd(II) decreased from 1.9 to 1.3 mg/g upon increasing the temperature from 10 to 50 °C. Cadmium adsorption may be partly diffusion controlled and partly due to electrostatic effect along with specific adsorption involving the adsorption of Cd(++) and CdOH(+) on mixed maghemite-magnetite nanoparticles in the alkaline pH range. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surveys confirmed that Cd(2+) ions may undergo oxidation-reduction reactions upon exposure to mixed maghemite-magnetite, or may be fixed by complexation to oxygen atoms in the oxyhydroxy groups at the surface of the iron oxide nanoparticles. After Cd(II) adsorption by the maghemite-magnetite mixture, the percent maghemite decreased from 74.8 to 68.5%.
Related Concept Videos
03:02Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
00:56Extraction: Advanced Methods