Selective adsorption of arsenic over phosphate by transition metal cross-linked chitosan

The ability of transition metal chitosan complexes (TMCs) of varying valence and charge to selectively adsorb As (III) and As(V) over their strongest adsorptive competitor, phosphate is examined. Fe(III)-chitosan, Cu(II)-chitosan, Al(III)-chitosan, Ni(II)-chitosan, and Zn(II)-chitosan are synthesized, characterized via Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), and their selective sorption capabilities towards arsenite and arsenate over phosphate are evaluated. It was found that the stability of the metal-chitosan complexes varied, with Al(III)- and Zn(II)-chitosan forming unstable complexes resulting in precipitation of gibbsite, and Wulfingite and zincite, respectively. Cu(II)-, Ni(II)-, and Fe(III)- chitosan formed a mixture of monodentate and bidentate complexes. The TMCs which formed the bidentate complex (Cu(II)-, Ni(II)-, and Fe(III)-) showed greater adsorption capability for arsenate in competitive systems with phosphate. Using the binary separation factor ?t/c, it can be shown that only Fe(III)-chitosan is selective for As(V) and As(III) over phosphate. Density Functional Theory (DFT) modeling and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) determined that Fe(III)-chitosan and Ni(II)-chitosan adsorbed As(V) and As(III) via innersphere complexation, while Cu(II)-chitosan formed mainly outer-sphere complexes with As(V) and As(III). These differences in complexation likely result in the observed differences in selective adsorption capability towards As(V) and As(III) over phosphate.

Automated summary

The study investigated the selective adsorption capabilities of transition metal chitosan complexes towards arsenite and arsenate over phosphate, with Fe(III)-chitosan showing the strongest affinity for As(V) and As(III) over phosphate.