Study of the adsorption behavior of heavy metal ions on nanometer-size titanium dioxide with ICP-AES

A new method using nanoparticle TiO2 as solidphase extractant coupled with ICP-AES was proposed for simultaneous determination of trace elements. The adsorption behavior of nanometer TiO2 towards Cu, Cr, Mn and Ni was investigated by ICP-AES, and the adsorption pH curves, adsorption isotherms and adsorption capacities were obtained. It was found that the adsorption rates of the metal ions studied were more than 90% in pH 8.0-9.0, and 2.0 mol L-1 HCl was sufficient for complete elution. Nanometer TiO2 possesses a significant capacity for the sorption of the metal ions studied which is higher than the capacity of silica, the commonly used extractant. The method has been applied to the analysis of some environmental samples with satisfactory results.