Persimmon tannin functionalized polyacrylonitrile fiber for highly efficient and selective recovery of Au(III) from aqueous solution

Abstract

An efficient fibrous adsorbent (PANF-TETA-PT) was prepared via grafting triethylenetetramine (TETA) on polyacrylonitrile fiber (PANF), followed by persimmon tannin (PT) immobilizing. Detailed characterization certified that plenty amounts of amino and phenolic hydroxyl groups existed on the surface of PANF-TETA-PT, which would provide excellent active sites for Au(III) adsorption. The batch characteristic results found that the adsorption equilibrium data could be fitted well with Langmuir equation, while the obtained kinetic data were consistent with the Pseudo-second-order equation. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of PANF-TETA-PT towards Au(III) (801.2 mg/g) was apparently superior than that of the reported adsorbents, and the competitive adsorption showed that PANF-TETA-PT had a good preference to adsorption Au(III) in spite of some coexisting pollutants. The characterization analysis of Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffractometer spectrum (XRD) revealed that the electrostatic attraction and chelation dominated the uptake of Au(III) on PANF-TETA-PT, in which a part of loaded Au(III) was reduced to Au particles with the help of reductive functional groups. Thus, this adsorbent could be as a promising candidate to separation and preconcentration of Au(III) from wastewater.