Space-confined synthesis of nitrilotriacetic acid immobilized magnetic sorbents in aqueous continuous phase of high internal phase emulsion for removing bivalent cadmium

Monodispersed magnetic sorbents (MMSs) display great potential for adsorptive removal of pollutants, but the conventional methods cannot meet requirements of scalable, time-saving, and energy-efficient fabrication. In this work, space-confined synthesis of nitrilotriacetic acid immobilized magnetic sorbents (NAIMSs-E) in aqueous continuous phase of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) was conducted, and as-prepared high quality sorbents (sensitive response to magnetic field, abundant affinity groups, uniform shell size, and stable structure) were applied for removing bivalent cadmium (Cd 2+ ) from aqueous solutions. 2-(Bis-carboxymethyl-amino)-6-{3-[2-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-ethylcarbamoyl]-propionylamino}-hexanoic acid was firstly synthesized as a robust anchor and a functional modifier onto magnetic Fe 3 O 4 . The effects of synthesis conditions to the morphology and structure were studied, and the forming mechanism based on emulsion nano-reactor was demonstrated. NAIMSs-E are expected to possess fast equilibrium rate, and approximately 90% of the maximum adsorption capacity is achieved within 60 min. The maximum uptake amounts are 49.98 mg g −1 , 80.58 mg g −1 , 176.4 mg g −1 at 288 K, 298 K, and 308 K, respectively, and the monolayer chemisorption based on sharing and transferring of electrons is the main rate-limiting step. Moreover, NAIMSs-E have excellent regeneration and specific affinity towards Cd 2+ , even for actual water samples. In addition, the spontaneous, endothermic, and entropy increased adsorption process is also confirmed. Therefore, this work not only presents a new clue to fabricate MMSs via simple emulsion nano-reactor, but also provides a novel platform for Cd 2+ removal.