Removal and recovery of group(IIB) cations from water by adsorption on maghemite nanoparticles and determination with AAS

Removal and recovery of heavy metals from aqueous solution was investigated using maghemite nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3) with diameter of 35-90 nm. In this study, the method combining nanoparticle adsorption and magnetic separation was applied for the removal and recovery of group(IIB) cations from water samples. The nanoscale maghemite was synthesized by ultrasonic and reduction-precipitation methods and evaluated as adsorbents of group(IIB) cations. Various factors influencing the adsorption of these cations, e.g., pH, temperature and initial concentra2on were studied. Adsorp2on reached equilibrium within 5 min and was independent of initial cations concentration. The maximum adsorption occurred at pH> 5.5. The results showed that nanoparticle (γ-Fe2O3) effective for the removal and recovery of these cations from water.