Preparation and Characterization of Porous Calcium Titanate-Based Coated Glass Fiber Filter Material and Its Application in Determination of Lead and Cadmium Ion Concentrations in Water

Abstract

Glass fiber filter coated with a porous block adsorption agent of calcium titanate (GPCTO) was prepared by the citric acid sol-gel method, and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and FTIR spectrophotometry. Its Pb2+ and Cd2+ adsorption properties from water were studied. Adsorption and elution were investigated under different conditions, as were the thermodynamics and kinetics of adsorption, using Cd ion as representative. Calcium titanate may react with glass fiber, forming Si-O-Ti and B-O-Ti bonds and becoming a composite adsorbent. The Pb and Cd ions were quantitatively retained at pH 4-9; their adsorption capacities by the GPCTO were 199.72 and 19.68 mg/g, respectively. The isothermal data were described by the Langmuir equation. The dynamic data followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model well. The enthalpy change (AH) of the adsorption process was 37.160 kJ/mol. At various temperatures, Gibbs free energy changes (delta G) were negative, and entropy changes (delta S) were positive. The activation energy (Ea) was 38.127 kJ/mol for the adsorption. Cd ion adsorption by the GPCTO was endothermic and spontaneous. The adsorbed Pb and Cd ions were completely recovered by elution with 2 M HNO3. The Pb+ and Cd2+ concentration factors were up to 200. The method has been applied to the preconcentration for flame atomic absorption spectrometric determinations of trace Pb and Cd ions in water samples. The recoveries were 95.2 to 102.4% for Pb and 92.2 to 98.0% for Cd.