Enhanced adsorption of U(VI) and 241Am(III) from wastewater using Ca/Al layered double hydroxide@carbon nanotube composites

Ca/Al layered double hydroxide decorated carbon nanotube (Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs) composites were fabricated by co-precipitation method and hydrothermal aged treatment. The prepared Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs was characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD, FT-IR, UV–vis and XPS techniques, and applied to remove U(VI) from aqueous solutions under various environmental conditions (i.e., pH, ionic strength, temperature and contact time). The results indicated that the adsorption of U(VI) on Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs was four times higher than that of U(VI) on bare CNTs. The kinetic investigations reflected the chemisorption of U(VI) on Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs through oxygen-containing functional groups. The adsorption isotherms demonstrated that the adsorption of U(VI) was well fitted by Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacity of U(VI) on Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs was calculated to be 382.9 mg g −1 at 289.15 K. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from temperature-dependent isotherms suggested that U(VI) adsorption on Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs were endothermic and spontaneous process. Furthermore, Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs could remove ∼91% of 241 Am(III) at pH = 8.0, which confirmed Ca/Al-LDH@CNTs as a promising material for multiply low level radionuclides’ pollution remediation.