Synchronous Removal of Arsenic and Fluoride from Aqueous Solution: A Facile Approach to Fabricate Novel Functional Metallopolymer Microspheres

Abstract

Concurrence of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F^-) ions in groundwater is a serious concern due to their fatal effects. Herein, an attempt was made to fabricate quaternized poly(zirconyl dimethacrylate-<i>co</i>-vinylbenzyl chloride)] (ZrVBZ), a metallopolymeric microsphere in three-dimensional shape with a porous texture. The synthesized ZrVBZ was utilized for the synchronal removal of As and F^- from water. Techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area were used to characterize the ZrVBZ. The maximum adsorption capacity of ZrVBZ for both fluoride and arsenic (<i>q</i> _max F^-: 116.5 mg g^-1, <i>q</i> _max As(V): 7.0 mg g^-1, and <i>q</i> _max As(III): 6.5 mg g^-1) at given experimental conditions (adsorbents' dose: 0.250 g L^-1, feed of F^-: 50 mg L^-1, As(V)/As(III): 2000 μg L^-1, and pH: 7.0 ± 0.2) was ascribed to the porous spherical architecture with dual functional sites to facilitate adsorption. The adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with a correlation coefficient of 0.996, 0.997, and 0.990 for F^-, As(V), and As(III), respectively. The isotherm data fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum capacity was 121.5, 7.246, and 6.68 mg g^-1 for F^-, As(V), and As(III), respectively. The results of this study indicated that ZrVBZ could be used as an effective adsorbent for the simultaneous removal of F^-, As(V), and As(III) from an aqueous medium.