Cadmium removal in waste water by nanostructured TiO2 particles

Abstract

Nanostructured TiO₂ dandelions and spherical flowers with an anatase structure were synthesized by a solvothermal method, and characterized by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, FT-IR, XPS and TG. The specific surface areas of the dandelions and spherical flowers were determined by BET to be 226 and 172 m² g⁻¹, respectively. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities of Cd(II) for the dandelions and spherical flowers were found to be 396 and 282 mg g⁻¹, respectively, and both nanostructured TiO₂ particles could be repeatedly used without any remarkable loss in adsorption capacity. The FT-IR, XPS and TG-MS analyses indicated that the Cd(II) adsorption was mainly ascribed to the hydroxyl groups on the TiO₂ surfaces. Both nanostructured particles exhibited great potential for the removal of Cd(II) from wastewater in engineering practices.