title: Ferromagnetic sorbents based on nickel nanowires for efficient uptake of mercury from water.
abstract: This work reports the preparation of ferro-magnetic nickel nanowires (NiNW) coated with dithiocarbamate-functionalized siliceous shells and its application for the uptake of aqueous Hg(II) ions by magnetic separation. NiNW with an average diameter and length of 35 nm and 5 μm, respectively, were firstly prepared by Ni electrodeposition in an anodic aluminum oxide template. The NiNW surfaces were then coated with siliceous shells containing dithiocarbamate groups via a one-step procedure consisting in the alkaline hydrolytic co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and a siloxydithiocarbamate precursor (SiDTC). A small amount of these new nanoadsorbents (2.5 mg·L(-1)) removed 99.8% of mercury ions from aqueous solutions with concentration 50 μg·L(-1) and in less than 24 h of contact time. This outstanding removal ability is attributed to the high affinity of the sulfur donor ligands to Hg(II) species combined with the high surface area-to-volume ratio of the NiNW.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, CICECO and CESAM, Aveiro Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Aveiro , 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paula C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: Daniela S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Tavares
authors.forename: Ana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Daniel-da-Silva
authors.forename: Cláudia B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Eduarda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: João P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: Célia T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Tito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Trindade