Role of uniform pore structure and high positive charges in the arsenate adsorption performance of Al13-modified montmorillonite.

Four modified montmorillonite adsorbents with varied Al(13) contents (i.e., Na-Mont, AC-Mont, PAC(20)-Mont, and Al(13)-Mont) were synthesized and characterized by N(2) adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier-transform infrared analyses. The arsenate adsorption performance of the four adsorbents were also investigated to determine the role of intercalated Al(13), especially its high purity, high positive charge (+7), and special Keggin structure. With increased Al(13) content, the physicochemical properties (e.g., surface area, structural uniformity, basal spacing, and pore volume) and adsorption performance of the modified montmorillonites were significantly but disproportionately improved. The adsorption data well fitted the Freundlich and Redlich-Peterson isotherm model, whereas the kinetic data better correlated with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The arsenate sorption mechanism of the montmorillonites changed from physical to chemisorption after intercalation with Al(13). Increasing charges of the intercalated ions enhanced the arsenate adsorption kinetics, but had minimal effect on the structural changes of the montmorillonites. The uniform pore structure formed by intercalation with high-purity Al(13) greatly enhanced the pore diffusion and adsorption rate of arsenate, resulting in the high adsorption performance of Al(13)-Mont.