Removal of Hg(II) with MgAl-layered double hydroxide functionalized by schiff base ligands: Application and condition optimization.

To effectively remove heavy metal Hg(II) from water bodies, a novel adsorbent of MgAl-layered double hydroxide (LDH) was designed and functionalized with Schiff base. The characterization results of the adsorbent (MgAl-LDH@SiO-AG) show that the Schiff base polymer was successfully coated onto the outside surface of MgAl-LDH with hexagonal structure. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity to Hg(II) is 228.46 mg/g at pH 7 and 298 K. The different pH solutions were investigated from pH 2 to 8, and the optimal capacity of MgAl-LDH@SiO-AG toward Hg(II) achieves 268.7 mg/g at pH = 7.2, T = 36.8 °C, C = 32.1 mg/L and dosage = 0.083 g/L. In reality, the adsorbent not only exhibits efficient removal of Hg(II) in various water bodies, including lake water, river water, effluent from sewage treatment plant, but also has an excellent selectivity in electroplating wastewater containing different heavy metal ions. Low contents of TN and TP in real wastewater have less effect on the removal of Hg(II). Moreover, the prepared adsorbent had a good reusability and stability. The reaction mechanism mainly involves chelation with nitrogen/oxygen-containing groups and the predominant participation of nitrogen atoms in the Schiff base functional group. The removal of Hg(II) relies on the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir model, and is an endothermic and spontaneous chemical reaction. The present work offers a practical method for preparing highly effective adsorptive materials with the LDH composites and for the treatment of heavy metal Hg(II) from water bodies.