Adsorption of trace thorium(IV) from aqueous solution by mono-modified β-cyclodextrin polyrotaxane using response surface methodology (RSM)

The adsorption of thorium(IV) was studied using a novel supramolecular polyrotaxane based on β-cyclodextrin derivatives. The effects of pH, contact time, Th(IV) initial concentration and adsorbents dosage on the adsorption of thorium(IV) by polyrotaxane were optimized using Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology. Analysis of variance and correlation coefficients showed that the predicted model was consistent with the experimental data well. The adsorption best fitted to the Langmuir model indicated that the adsorption process happened on homogeneous surface. The thermodynamic parameters (∆ G 0  < 0, ∆ H 0  > 0, ∆ S 0  > 0) demonstrated that the adsorption of Th(IV) ions onto polyrotaxane was spontaneous and endothermic.