Enhanced adsorption of arsenate on the aminated fibers: sorption behavior and uptake mechanism.

Novel aminated polyacrylonitrile fibers (APANFs) were prepared through the reaction of polyacrylonitrile fibers (PANFs) with four multinitrogen-containing aminating reagents, and the best adsorbent was obtained after the optimization of preparation experiments. The APANFs were effective for arsenate removal from aqueous solution, and the sorption behaviors including kinetics, isotherms, effect of pH, and competitive anions were investigated. Experimental results show that the equilibrium of arsenate sorption on the fibers was achieved within 1 h, and Langmuir equation described the sorption isotherms well with a high sorption capacity of 256.1 mg/g obtained. The thermodynamic parameters calculated show that the sorption was spontaneous and exothermic under the condition applied. The zero point of zeta potential of the APANFs was at about pH = 8.2, in contrast with that of the PANFs at pH = 3.6. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the APANFs before and after arsenate adsorption revealed that the amine groups on the fiber surface played an important role in the removal of arsenate from water, attributed to the electrostatic interaction between the positive protonated amine groups and negative arsenate ions.