Acetylacetone functionalized magnetic carbon microspheres for the highly-efficient adsorption of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions.

Herein, Acac-C@FeO, a magnetic carbon (C@FeO) modified with acetylacetone (Acac), was first prepared and used as a solid-phase adsorbent for adsorbing some heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and BET studies. Some parameters affecting the adsorption and desorption processes were studied in Pb solution, including sample pH, contact time, initial concentration, type and connection of the desorption solution. Absorption results showed that removal of Pb was 100% under optimal conditions at an initial concentration of 10.0 mg L. The adsorption mechanism conformed well to a pseudo-second order kinetic model. The adsorption capacity of the sorbent also showed promising results with Hg, Cr, Fe, Cd, Mn, Zn, Cu and Pb, where maximum adsorption capacities reached 98.0, 151.2, 188.9, 202.2, 286.3, 297.2, 305.1 and 345.3 mg g, respectively. The Acac-C@FeO microsphere material was successfully applied to the adsorption of heavy metal ions in aqueous solution.