Investigation of an eco-friendly aerogel as a substrate for the immobilization of MoS2 nanoflowers for removal of mercury species from aqueous solutions

An adsorbent that exhibits high affinity for inorganic mercury (Hg 2+ ) with a high removal efficiency of methylmercury (MeHg + ) has been developed. The adsorbent demonstrates a symbiotic relationship between its two components, molybdenum disulphide nanoflowers (MoS 2 NFs) and a poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) aerogel. Furthermore, we modified the distribution and loading of the MoS 2 NFs, which was possible due to the stable porous support, and investigated the biocompatibility of the aerogel-support adsorbent. The performance of the optimized material exhibited a distribution coefficient of 9.71 × 10 7  mL g −1 . In addition, the adsorbent was effective over a wide pH range and could efficiently purify both contaminated lake and sea water. The key motivation for using an aerogel support was to stabilise the MoS 2 NFs during purification of the water (resulting in improved performance compared to using freestanding MoS 2 NFs) and the ability to regenerate the used adsorbent. In addition, animal tests confirmed an extremely low toxicity of the adsorbent to fish, along with the excellent purification results.