Ionic Adsorption and Desorption of CNT Nanoropes.
A nanorope is comprised of several carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different chiralities. A molecular dynamic model is built to investigate the ionic adsorption and desorption of the CNT nanoropes. The charge distribution on the nanorope is obtained by using a modified gradient method based on classical electrostatic theory. The electrostatic interactions among charged carbon atoms are calculated by using the Coulomb law. It was found here that the charged nanorope can adsorb heavy metal ions, and the adsorption and desorption can be realized by controlling the strength of applied electric field. The distance between the ions and the nanorope as well as the amount of ions have an effect on the adsorption capacity of the nanorope. The desorption process takes less time than that of adsorption. The study indicates that the CNT nanorope can be used as a core element of devices for sewage treatment.
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China. shangjunjun@emails.bjut.edu.cn.
Jun-Jun
JJ
Shang
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China. qsyang@bjut.edu.cn.
Qing-Sheng
QS
Yang
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China. yanxiaohuiyxh@emails.bjut.edu.cn.
Xiao-Hui
XH
Yan
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China. bcxqhe@cityu.edu.hk.
Xiao-Qiao
XQ
He
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China. kmliew@cityu.edu.hk.
Kim-Meow
KM
Liew
adsorption and desorption of ions; carbon nanotubes; nanorope