A facile one-step synthesized epsilon-MnO nanoflowers for effective removal of lead ions from wastewater.

The increasing contamination of lead ions (Pb(II)) in groundwater has become a serious environmental issue, which provides the impetus for intense research on Pb(II) removal. ε-MnO nanoflowers were successfully fabricated through a simple decomposition reaction. And the obtained ε-MnO nanoflowers were employed to remove Pb(II) from water. The detailed microstructure and surface properties of ε-MnO were systematically characterized. The results indicate that the pure ε-MnO phase was obtained and the specific surface area is 96.33 m g. Batch adsorption experiments of Pb(II) were carried out, and the ε-MnO nanoflowers exhibited outstanding adsorption performance. The maximum adsorption capacity for Pb(II) and Cd(II) achieved to 239.7 mg g and 73.6 mg g at the dosage of 0.2 g L. Besides, the prepared ε-MnO nanoflowers show much higher removal efficiency toward Pb(II) compared with commercial MnO. The XRD results reveal the stability of ε-MnO nanoflowers, and the XPS results suggest that both the electrostatic interaction and structural tunnels are responsible for the removal mechanisms of Pb(II). This work finds a facile method to synthesize ε-MnO nanoflowers, showing great potential for Pb(II) removal.