Well-dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles anchored on Fe3O4 magnetic nanosheets for efficient arsenic removal

Magnetic iron-titanium binary oxide as an effective adsorbent for arsenic contaminant is a challenge primarily because of their bulk structure and agglomeration effect. Herein, a novel and uniform sandwich-like magnetic Fe3O4@TiO2 sheets were synthesized by utilizing a facile strategy involving amorphous-to-crystalline transformation and reduction in H-2, to achieve dispersed anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with a small size of similar to 8 nm anchored on Fe3O4 sheets. The resultant Fe3O4@TiO2 sheets nanocomposite possessing a high specific surface area of similar to 89.4 m(2) g(-1) and available magnetic susceptibility of similar to 20.0 emu g(-1), significantly enhanced the photo catalytic oxidation property of arsenite and considerable adsorption capability for arsenic removal. The adsorption capacities of As(V) and As(III) with UV-assisted from adsorption experimental results were 36.36 and 30.96 mg g(-1), respectively, while the residual concentrations for both As(V) and As(III) were lower than the strict limit of 10 mu g L-1. Adsorption equilibriums were almost reached within 45 min. In addition, the adsorbent exhibited excellent stability over a broad pH range of 3-9 and still maintained great removal efficiency after five time regeneration cycles. Furthermore, except for silicate and phosphate, the extremely weak inhibiting influences of common co-existing ions in arsenic removal process, demonstrated that the developed magnetic Fe3O4@TiO2 sheets with unique nanostructure could be a promising efficient adsorbent for arsenic removal.