Unique Lead Adsorption Behavior of Activated Hydroxyl Group in Two-Dimensional Titanium Carbide

• Published in: Journal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 136; no. 11; pp. 4113 - 4116
• Main Authors: Peng, Qiuming, Guo, Jianxin, Zhang, Qingrui, Xiang, Jianyong, Liu, Baozhong, Zhou, Aiguo, Liu, Riping, Tian, Yongjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 19.03.2014
• Subjects: Adsorption; Hydroxides - chemistry; Particle Size; Surface Properties; Titanium - chemistry
• ISSN: 0002-7863; 1520-5126
• DOI: 10.1021/ja500506k

The functional groups and site interactions on the surfaces of two-dimensional (2D) layered titanium carbide can be tailored to attain some extraordinary physical properties. Herein a 2D alk-MXene (Ti3C2(OH/ONa) x F2–x ) material, prepared by chemical exfoliation followed by alkalization intercalation, exhibits preferential Pb(II) sorption behavior when competing cations (Ca(II)/Mg(II)) coexisted at high levels. Kinetic tests show that the sorption equilibrium is achieved in as short a time as 120 s. Attractively, the alk-MXene presents efficient Pb(II) uptake performance with the applied sorption capacities of 4500 kg water per alk-MXene, and the effluent Pb(II) contents are below the drinking water standard recommended by the World Health Organization (10 μg/L). Experimental and computational studies suggest that the sorption behavior is related to the hydroxyl groups in activated Ti sites, where Pb(II) ion exchange is facilitated by the formation of a hexagonal potential trap.