MoS2 composite hydrogel supported by two-dimensional montmorillonite nanosheets for Pb2+ removal from water.

• 2D Mts can significantly increase the hydrophilicity of MoS 2 @ 2D Mts composites. • 2D Mts provide active sites to interact with polymers to form hydrogel for easy separation of MoS 2 from water. • MoS 2 @2D Mts-PVA composite hydrogel shows an enhanced Pb2+ removal performance. To improve the hydrophilicity and achieve easy separation of MoS 2 adsorbent fines from water, composite hydrogel of MoS 2 supported by two-dimensional montmorillonite nanosheets in poly vinyl alcohol (MoS 2 @2D Mts-PVA Gel) has been designed and synthesized. 2D Mts act as carriers to load MoS 2 and interact with polymers. The MoS 2 @2D Mts shows high hydrophilicity, and the MoS 2 @2D Mts-PVA Gel has porous three-dimensional structure for the adsorption and separation of metal ions in water. Therefore, 2D Mts are ideal carriers to load MoS 2 for well dispersion in water and interact with polymers. Adsorption tests demonstrate that the Pb2+ adsorption capacity of MoS 2 @2D Mts-PVA Gel increases significantly with the increase of MoS 2 @2D Mts content and solution pH, and a high Pb2+ adsorption capacity of 257 mg g−1 can be reached. The adsorption of Pb2+ onto MoS 2 can be attributed to the complexation of Pb2+ with S and O atoms on the surface, and electrostatic adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]