Preparation of CaCO3:Eu3+@SiO2 and its application on adsorption of Tb3+

Rare earth elements (REEs) are widely used in modern technologies while their constant consumption made it urgent to find an efficient method to recover the REEs for the sustainable development. Owing to the porous structure and various active sites, the core-shell materials turned into the focus of adsorption researches. Herein, we synthesized a porous core-cell material CaCO3:Eu3+@SiO2 and applied it into the adsorption of Tb3+ for the first time. CaCO3:Eu3+@SiO2 was characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM and Zeta potential measurements. The adsorption data fitted best with the pseudo-second-order model while the Weber and Morris described the rate controlling steps. The material exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 188.26 mg.g(-1) at 323 K and pH 5.83. Besides, it showed different adsorption capacities among the competing adsorption of La3+, Nd3+ and Tm3+. This work presented a promising and economical adsorbent for the efficient removal of REEs for environmental remediation applications.

Automated summary

A porous core-shell material CaCO3:Eu3+@SiO2 was synthesized and applied for Tb3+ adsorption for the first time. Characterization and adsorption experiments showed that the material has high adsorption capacity under certain conditions, making it suitable for environmental remediation applications.