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Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has high removal efficiency and strong reductive ability to organic and inorganic contaminants, but concerns over its stability and dispersity limit its application. In this study, nZVI was modified with sulfide to enhance Cd(II) removal from aqueous solutions. TEM and SEM analyses showed that sulfide-modified nZVI (S-nZVI) had a core-shell structure of nano-sized spherical particles, and BET results proved that sulfide modification doubled the specific surface area from 26.04 to 50.34 m 2  g −1 and inhibited the aggregation of nZVI. Mechanism analysis indicated that Cd(II) was immobilized through complexation and precipitation. Cd(II) removal rate on nZVI was only 32% in 2 h, while complete immobilization could be achieved in 15 min on S-nZVI, and S-nZVI with an optimal S/Fe molar ratio of 0.3 offered a cadmium removal capacity of about 150 mg g −1 at pH 7 and 303 K. The process of Cd(II) immobilization on S-nZVI was fitted well with pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the increase of temperature favored Cd(II) immobilization, suggesting an endothermic process. The presence of Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ hindered Cd(II) removal while Cu 2+ did the opposite, which led to the order as Cu 2+  > control > Mg 2+  > Ca 2+ . The removal rate of 20 mg L −1 Cd(II) maintained a high level with the fluctuation of environmental conditions such as pH, ion strength and presence of HA. This study demonstrated that S-nZVI could be a promising adsorbent for Cd(II) immobilization from cadmium-contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, EDTA-functionalized Fe 3 O 4 (Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -EDTA) was prepared by silanization reaction between N-(trimethoxysilylpropyl) ethylenediamine triacetic acid (EDTA-silane) and hydroxyl groups for Pb(II) and Cu(II) removal from aqueous solutions. Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -EDTA composites were characterized using SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, XPS, TGA and saturated magnetization techniques. Maximum Pb(II) adsorption capacity was found to be 114.94 mg g −1 with SiO 2 /EDTA molar ratio of 2.5:1. The adsorption rate was significantly fast and the equilibrium was reached within 10 min. The optimum pH was recorded to be 5.0. The maximum adsorption capacity of the studied heavy metal ions calculated by Langmuir model followed the order: Cu(II) (0.58 mmol g −1 ) > Pb(II) (0.55 mmol g −1 ) ≈ Ni(II) (0.55 mmol g −1 ) > Cd(II) (0.45 mmol g −1 ). Moreover, Pb(II) and Cu(II) adsorption capacities were not significantly affected by co-existing cations and NOM. These results suggested that this adsorbent can be considered as a promising adsorbent to remove Pb(II) and Cu(II) from wastewaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]