The carbon nanotubes-based materials and their applications for organic pollutant removal: A critical review

The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the emerging materials for organic pollutant removal have gradually become a burgeoning research field. Herein, a mini-review of CNTs-based materials currently studies for organic pollutant elimination is presented. This review summarizes the preparation methods of CNTs-based materials. CNTs-based materials can be used as adsorbents to remove organic pollutants in wastewater. The adsorption mechanisms mainly include surface diffusion, pore diffusion and adsorption reaction. Most importantly, an in-depth overview of CNTs-based materials currently available in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) applications for wastewater treatment is proposed. CNTs-based materials can catalyze different oxidants (e.g., hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), persulfates (PMS/PDS), ozone (O-3) and ferrate/permanganate (Fe(VI)/Mn(VII)) to generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) for organic pollutant elimination. Moreover, the possible reaction mechanisms of removing organic pollutants by CNTs-based materials are summarized systematically and discussed in detail. Finally, application potential and future research directions of CNTs-based materials in the environmental remediation field are proposed. (C) 2021 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Carbon nanotubes are emerging materials for organic pollutant removal, acting as adsorbents to remove pollutants from wastewater and catalyze oxidants to generate more reactive oxygen species. Research has also systematically summarized the possible reaction mechanisms of removing organic pollutants by CNTs-based materials.