Fluoride adsorption onto amorphous aluminum hydroxide: Roles of the surface acetate anions

Amorphous aluminum hydroxide with hydroxyl groups, acetate anions and chlorine anions enriched surface was synthesized, and was characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. Batch experiments were performed to study the influence of various experimental parameters such as contact time, initial fluoride concentration, temperature, pH value and the presence of competing anions on the adsorption of fluoride on amorphous aluminum hydroxide. The kinetic data was well fitted to pseudo-second-order model. The fluoride adsorption on the amorphous aluminum hydroxide can be well described by the Langmuir model, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 63.94mgg(-1) at pH 7.0. Thermodynamic parameters including the Gibbs free energy, standard enthalpy and standard entropy were calculated, and the results suggested that the adsorption of fluoride on the amorphous aluminum hydroxide was a feasible, spontaneous and exothermic process. The adsorption mechanism was revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The results suggested that the surface acetate anions and surface chlorine anions played important roles in the fluoride removal process.