Fe-MoS4: An Effective and Stable LDH-Based Adsorbent for Selective Removal of Heavy Metals

It has always been a serious challenge to design efficient, selective, and stable absorbents for heavy-metal removal. Herein, we design layered double hydroxide (LDH)-based Fe-MoS4, a highly efficient adsorbent, for selective removal of heavy metals. We initially synthesized FeMgAl-LDH and then enriched its protective layers with MoS42- anions as efficient binding sites for heavy metals. Various characterization tools, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), CHN analysis, and inductively coupled plasma analysis, were applied to confirm structural and compositional changes during the synthesis of Fe-MoS4 as final product. The prepared Fe-MoS4 offered excellent attraction for heavy metals, such as Hg2+, Ag+, Pb2+, and Cu2+, and displayed selectivity in the order Hg2+ similar to Ag+ > Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Cr6+ > As3+ > Ni2+ similar to Zn2+ similar to Co2+. The immense capacities of Hg2+, Ag+, and Pb2+ (583, 565, and 346 mg/g, respectively), high distribution coefficient (K-d similar to 10(7)-10(8)), and fast kinetics place Fe-MoS4 on the top of materials list known for removal of such metals. The sorption kinetics and isothermal studies conducted on Hg2+, Ag+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ suit well pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir model, suggesting monolayer chemisorption mechanism through M-S linkages. XRD and FTIR studies suggested that adsorbed metals could result as coordinated complexes in LDH interlayer region. More interestingly, LDH structure offers protective space for MoS42- anions to avoid oxidation under ambient environments, as confirmed by XPS studies. These features provide Fe-MoS4 with enormous capacity, good reusability, and excellent selectivity even in the presence of huge concentration of common cations.