A review on Carbon nanotubes adsorbents for the removal of pollutants from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a novel material that exhibits good adsorption behavior toward various toxic pollutants in aqueous solution. These adsorbents have a fast adsorption rate and high adsorption efficiency, efficient to remove various pollutants and they are easy to recover and reuse. These features highlight the suitability of CNTs for the treatment of water polluted with heavy metal ions and dyes. This review outlines the preparation of CNTs as well as different methods of surface modification of these materials by non-covalent and covalent functionalization strategies. Additionally, an overview of recent developments and applications of CNTs for heavy metal ions and dyes pollutant removal is discussed in detail. Based on current research and existing materials, some new and futuristic approaches in this fascinating area are also discussed. The main objective of this review is to provide up-to-date information about the most important features of CNTs and to show their advantages as adsorbents in the treatment of polluted aqueous solutions.