Adsorption of arsenate on Cu/Mg/Fe/La layered double hydroxide from aqueous solutions

Highlights: ► A novel layered double hydroxide containing lanthanum (Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDH) has been synthesized. ► The average pore size of the materials with about 16 nm indicated that the mesoporous structures existed in the Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDHs. ► The adsorption capacity of As(V) increased with the increment of La3+ content in the LDH. ► The maximum adsorption capacity of the synthesized Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDH for arsenate was 43.5 mg/g. - Abstract: A novel layered double hydroxide containing lanthanum (Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDH) has been synthesized and used for the removal of arsenate from aqueous solutions. The purpose of incorporation of La3+ into LDHs was tried to enhance the uptake efficiency of arsenate and broaden the application field of LDHs functional materials. Effects of various physico-chemical factors such as solution pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial arsenate concentrations on the adsorption of arsenate onto Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDH were investigated. Results showed that the removal efficiency of arsenate increased with the increment of the lanthanum content in Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDH adsorbents, and the optimized lanthanum content was 20% of the total trivalent metals composition (Fe3+ and La3+). The adsorption isotherms can be well described by Langmuir equation, and the adsorption kinetics of arsenate followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Coexistent ions such as HPO42−, CO32−, SO42−, Cl− and NO3− exhibited obvious competition with arsenate for the adsorption on Cu/Mg/Fe/La-LDH. The solution pH significantly affected the removal efficiency, which was closely related to the change of arsenate species distribution under different pH conditions. The predominant adsorption mechanism can be mainly attributed to the processes including ion exchange and layer ligand exchange.