Rational design of MXene coated polyurethane foam for the removal of Pb2+

Abstract Herein, for the first time, highly efficient, inexpensive, lightweight, and ecofriendly MXene coated polyurethane foam (PUF) have been prepared for the dynamic uptake of Pb2+ from water in a fixed bed column. The Pb2+ ions were adsorbed on the negatively charged MXene via electrostatic interaction and ion exchange mechanism. A series of fixed bed column studies were carried out using continuously flowing feed solution and the PUF samples coated with three alternate layers of MXene and Chitosan (CS) showed the highest adsorption capacity i.e., 80% Pb2+ removal in first 20 min and >40% removal even after 3 h where initial concentration was 4 ppm.