Efficient removal of uranium (VI) from aqueous solution by thiol-functionalized montmorillonite/nanoscale zero-valent iron composite.

Montmorillonite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron composite functionalized by thiols (nZVI/Mt-SH) was synthesized by a two-step co-precipitation method for uranium (IV) removal from water. The SEM investigation showed that the morphology of nZVI/Mt was successfully modified by the (3-Mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane. The optimal adsorption efficiencies could be attributed to the synergetic behavior between SH-functionalized clay and iron nanoparticles. Analysis of the removal kinetics indicated the feature of monolayer chemisorption. The intraparticle diffusion exploration by Weber-Morris model illustrated a multi-phase removal process. This work suggests that the as-synthesized particles could be used as an efficient adsorbent to remove U(VI) from contaminated water sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]