Magnetically recyclable Fe3O4 doped flower-like MoS2: Efficient removal of elemental mercury

At the front end of the Electrostatic precipitator (ESP), activated carbon injection is a common method to remove mercury from flue gas, but the high cost, low efficiency and non-recyclability limit the practical application of activated carbon. MoS 2 , a transition metal sulfide with a two-dimensional layered structure, was found to have favourable performances in removing contaminant. In this work, Fe 3 O 4 was successfully grown on the surface of flower-like MoS 2 by two-steps hydrothermal methods. The experimental results showed that the specific surface area of MoS 2 /Fe 3 O 4 (MF) was the largest when the ratio is 10 wt% (MF-10). Compared with pure MoS 2 , the specific surface area of MF-10 increased by 6.7467 m 2 /g, which was attributed to the growth of Fe 3 O 4 . At the same time, the introduction of Fe 3 O 4 made the MF possess superparamagnetism to facilitate its retrievability under an external magnetic field. In addition, MF-10 also showed a mercury removal efficiency of almost 100%. Although the efficiency of the MF-10 has decreased after 5 cycles and 24 h, it could still maintain about 90%, revealing a stable cycle life. Due to its mercury removal performance and recyclability, MF can be considered as a favorable adsorbent for removing elemental mercury.