Nanomaterials for Removal of Toxic Metals Ions from the Water

Abstract

The rapid deterioration in water quality has become a global concern. Heavy metal ions are the most dangerous water pollutants for living organisms; hence, there is a necessity to remove these toxic pollutants from water. Traditional water purification methods are expensive and inefficient to provide adequate quality of water. In the past few decades, nanotechnology has gained remarkable attention in many areas including water purification processes. Nanomaterials have unique properties such as greater surface area, exceptional adsorption capability and high selectivity which make them more promising materials for removal of heavy metal ions, and other pollutants from water. Nanomaterials are capable of removing toxic metal ions with high efficiency and selectivity even at their lower concentration. This chapter gives an overview of various nanomaterials especially carbon nanomaterials (e.g., graphene and carbon nanotubes) for the removal of highly toxic metal ions such as arsenic (As5+), lead (Pb2+), cadmium (Cd2+), and mercury (Hg, Hg2+) from water. This chapter will also highlight the toxic effects and main barriers of nanomaterials in sustainable water treatment.