A novel multifunctional adsorbent synthesized by modifying acidified organo-montmorillonite with iron hydroxides

Abstract Multifunctional adsorbents based on montmorillonite (Mt) have been of highly concerns due to their unique 2D layer structures and impressive co-adsorption performances. To further enhance the support ability and reactivity, a strategy was developed in this study to enable the co-existence of porous nanosilica (PNS) and hydrophobic interlayer spaces in Mt structure, and a novel multifunctional adsorbent (iron modified-acidified organo-Mt, Fe-AOMt) was then synthesized, aiming to simultaneously remove hydrophobic contaminants, oxyanion contaminants and heavy metals in water. The combination of XRD, FTIR and TEM verified the co-existence of amorphous PNS and layered structure (containing intercalated surfactant) in the acidified organo-Mt (AOMt), and results of STEM-EDX revealed uniform distribution of Fe after the further introduction of Fe hydroxides to AOMt. Additionally, pore structure analyses suggested that the acid activation can obviously increase the pore volume and specific surface area of OMt. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that Fe-AOMt as a promising multifunctional adsorbent was able to effectively and simultaneously remove nitrobenzene, phosphate, and Cd(II) in the multi-contaminant system. The synergetic adsorption of phosphate and Cd(II) on Fe-AOMt suggested the formation of ternary surface complexes (≡Fe–P–Cd), while the pH-independent uptake of nitrobenzene was hardly influenced by adsorption of phosphate and Cd(II), implying dissimilar adsorption mechanisms. The co-adsorption mechanism on Fe-AOMt was further revealed via XPS. Our work provided a novel and efficient Mt-based multifunctional adsorbent with a newly-proposed structure, which was a preliminary exploration of diversifying locations and types of active sites in Mt structure.