Two-dimensional titanium carbide decorated nanoscale iron sulfide: Synthesis, characterization, and behavior for uranium (VI) removal

In this study, a novel nanocomposite of iron sulfide supported on two-dimensional titanium carbide (FeS@Ti 3 C 2 T x ) was constructed and applied in U(VI) removal from wastewater under anoxic conditions. The results demonstrated that FeS@Ti 3 C 2 T x had excellent removal ability, and the highest scavenging capacity reached 1098.2 mg/g at T = 303 K, which was better than that on Ti 3 C 2 T x or FeS material under the same experimental conditions. Various factors, such as contact time, initial pH, adsorbent dose and initial U(VI) concentration, were comprehensively investigated by batch experiments. U(VI) removal on FeS@Ti 3 C 2 T x was strongly dependent on the initial pH, and its optimum value was at pH = 5.0. The reaction process of U(VI) removal on FeS@Ti 3 C 2 T x reached equilibrium within 3 h. The kinetics and isotherm analyses under different conditions demonstrated that U(VI) removal on FeS@Ti 3 C 2 T x was in accordance with pseudo-second-order and Freundlich models. These results suggested that the FeS@Ti 3 C 2 T x nanocomposites could be an efficient scavenger for environmental remediation.