One-Step Preparation of Magnetic Co/N-Containing Carbon for Efficient Chromium Removal: Performance and Mechanism

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) poses significant environmental and health risks.
• Effective and sustainable methods for Cr(VI) removal from industrial wastewater are crucial.
• Existing methods often face challenges with efficiency, cost, or secondary pollution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel magnetic nitrogen-containing carbon (Co/NC) material for efficient Cr(VI) removal.
• To investigate the adsorption performance and mechanism of Co/NC for Cr(VI).
• To evaluate the reusability and stability of the Co/NC material for practical wastewater treatment applications.

Main Methods:

• One-step carbonization of ZIF-67 to synthesize Co/NC materials.
• Characterization of Co/NC properties (surface area, functional groups, magnetization).
• Batch adsorption experiments to determine Cr(VI) adsorption capacity and kinetics.
• Spectroscopic analysis and simulation calculations to elucidate the adsorption mechanism.

Main Results:

• Co/NC-800-2 exhibited a high Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 85.46 mg·g⁻¹ at 30 °C.
• Adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models.
• Mechanism involves electrostatic adsorption, redox reactions, and chelation.
• Material demonstrated excellent reusability (90.08% capacity after 5 cycles) and magnetic separation.

Conclusions:

• One-step synthesized Co/NC is a highly effective adsorbent for Cr(VI) removal.
• The material shows promising application prospects in wastewater treatment due to its efficiency, stability, and reusability.
• The findings contribute to the development of advanced materials for environmental remediation.