Abstract
For the first time, the removal of heavy metal-dye complexes from water was investigated. Three different complexes, formed through the reaction between Arsenazo III dye (C22H18As2N4O14S2) with dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), or neodymium (Nd), were prepared in aqueous solution with a concentration of 25 ppm. Carbonized Titania was prepared by wet-deposition technique and the characterized by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DR UV-vis), energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The removal of the three complexes from water was performed over carbonized Titania by using adsorption and photocatalysis techniques. Results show that the presence of small amount of carbon in the Titania did not only improve the adsorption property, but also enhanced the photocatalytic behavior. The ICP elemental analysis showed that less than 1 ppm was obtained from the investigated three heavy metals Dy, Ho, or Nd, and arsenic (As) in the solution after the removal process.