In situ synthesis of FeS/Carbon fibers for the effective removal of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution

Highlights

• FeS/carbon fibers were in situ synthesized with Fe-carrageenan hydrogel fiber.

• The double helix structure of carrageenan is used to load and disperse Fe.

• Pyrolyzing sulfate groups enriched carrageenan-Fe could easily generate FeS.

• The adsorption mechanisms include reduction and complexation reaction.

Abstract

Iron sulfide (FeS) nanoparticles (termed FSNs) have attracted much attention for the removal of pollutants due to their high efficiency and low cost, and because they are environmentally friendly. However, issues of agglomeration, transformation, and the loss of active components limit their application. Therefore, this study investigates in situ synthesized FeS/carbon fibers with an Fe-carrageenan biomass as a precursor and nontoxic sulfur source to ascertain the removal efficiency of the fibers. The enrichment of sulfate groups as well as the double-helix structure in ι-carrageenan-Fe could effectively avoid the aggregation and loss of FSNs in practical applications. The obtained FeS/carbon fibers were used to control a Cr(VI) polluted solution, and exhibited a relatively high removal capacity (81.62 mg/g). The main mechanisms included the reduction of FeS, electrostatic adsorption of carbon fibers, and Cr(III)-Fe(III) complexation reaction. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption model both provided a good fit of the reaction process; hence, the removal process was mainly controlled by chemical adsorption, specifically monolayer adsorption on a uniform surface. Furthermore, co-existing anions, column, and regeneration experiments indicated that the FeS/carbon fibers are a promising remediation material for practical application.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Carrageenan / FeS / Double-helix structure / Hexavalent chromium

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51672143 and 51808303), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Nos. ZR2019BEE027 and ZR2018BEM002), Applied Basic Research of Qingdao City (Special Youth Project) (Nos. 19-6-2-74-cg and 19-6-2-83-cg), Outstanding Youth of Natural Science in Shandong Province (No. JQ201713), and Taishan Scholars Program.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1247-8 and is accessible for authorized users.

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