Adsorption of Zinc and Lead Ions from Aqueous Solutions Using Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol Membrane Incorporated via Acid-Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes were synthesized via the chemical vapor deposition method using cyclohexanol and ferrocene as carbon precursor and catalyst, respectively, and then they are functionalized with acid treatment. Chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol adsorptive membrane incorporated with carbon nanotubes (CS/PVA-CNTs membrane) was prepared via the solution casting method. The CS/ PVA-CNTs membrane was employed for adsorption of lead and zinc ions from aqueous solutions. Various isotherms and kinetic models were applied to fit the experimental data. It was found out that adsorption behavior of the heavy metal ions using CS/PVA-CNTs membrane match well with the Freundlich isotherm and the pseudo-first-order kinetic models.