Strategically Designed Ternary Nanohybrids of Titanate Nanosheet and Polydopamine-Coated Carbon Nanotubes for Highly Efficient Enrichment of Uranium(VI).

A strategically designed ternary nanohybrid (TNS-PDA/CNT), consisting of titanate nanosheet (TNS) and polydopamine-modified multiwalled carbon nanotube (PDA/CNT composite), was synthesized by the facile hydrothermal method and wet impregnation method for removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution and were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TNSs were introduced into the PDA/CNT composite, which effectively averted the agglomeration of the CNT and further exposed more adsorption sites. PDA thin layer exposing more active sites was conducive to enhance adsorption capacity and kinetic. The adsorption process was largely influenced by pH values and weakly affected by ionic strength, indicating that the adsorption process was controlled by inner-sphere surface complexes because of TNS-PDA/CNT with multiple functional groups, including imine, catechol, amine, and hydroxyl groups. The isotherm data could be well described by the Langmuir model, and the monolayer maximum adsorption was determined to be 309.60 mg/g at pH = 5.0 and temperature = 45 °C. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔG° < 0, ΔS° > 0, and ΔH° < 0) showed that the nature of adsorption was endothermic and spontaneous. By XRD, FT-IR, and XPS analyses, the adsorption mechanism mainly involved surface complexation and ion exchange. In summary, the TNS-PDA/CNT materials are fully qualified as a satisfactory adsorbent for the purification and recovery of U(VI) from wastewater.