Carbon nanotubes - the promising adsorbent in wastewater treatment

Carbon materials are a class of significant and widely used engineering adsorbent. As a new member of the carbon family, carbon nanotubes have exhibited great potentials in applications as composite reinforcements, field emitters for flat panel display, sensors, energy storage and energy conversion devices, and catalysts support phases, because of their extraordinary mechanical, electrical, thermal and structural properties. In particular, the large specific surface areas, as well as the high chemical and thermal stabilities, make carbon nanotubes an attractive adsorbent in wastewater treatment. The adsorption properties of the carbon nanotubes to a series of toxic agents, such as lead, cadmium and 1,2-dichlorobenzene have been studied and the results show that carbon nanotubes are excellent and effective adsorbent for eliminating these harmful media in water. The effects of the morphologies and the surface status on the carbon nanotube adsorption capacities are also discussed.