Removal and recovery of copper (II) ions by bacterial biosorption

Studies were conducted toinvestigate the removal and recovery of copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions by Micrococcus sp., which was isolated from a local activated sludge process. The equilibrium of copper biosorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model very well with a maximum biosorption capacity (q_max) of 36.5 mg of Cu²⁺/gofdry cell at pH 5.0 and 52.1 mg of Cu²⁺/g of dry cell at pH 6.0. Cells harvested at exponential growth phase and stationary phase showed similar biosorption characteristics for copper, Copper uptake by cells was negligible at pH 2.0 and then increased rapidly with increasing pH un til 6.0. In multim etal systems, Micrococcus sp. exhibited a preferential biosorption order: Cu−Pb>Ni−Zn. There is virtually no interference with copper uptake by Micrococcus sp. from solutions bearing high concentrations of Cl⁻, SO ₄ ²⁻ , and NO3/− (0–500 mg/L). Sulfuric acid (0.05 M) was the most efficient desorption medium, recovering >90% of the initial copper sorbed. The copper capacity of Micrococcus sp. remained unchanged after five successive sorption and desorption cycles. Immobilization of Micrococcus sp. in 2% calcium alginate and 10% polyacrylamide gel beads increased copper uptake by 61%. Biomass of Micrococcus sp. may be applicable to the development of potentially cost-effective biosorbent for removing and recovering copper from effluents.     

Application of Artificial Neural Network and Particle Swarm Optimization for modelling and optimization of biosorption of Lead(II) and Nickel(II) from wastewater using dead cyanobacterial biomass

Removal of heavy metals through biosorption using biomass offers several advantages over other conventional techniques such as low cost, high efficiency, environmentally friendly, etc. In the present article, biosorption of Nickel(II) and Lead(II)was investigated using dried biomass of cyanobacterial consortium. OFAT (one-factor-at-a-time) analysis was used to assess the effect of input parameters on the removal of potentially toxic elements by varying initial metal ion concentration (2–10 mgL⁻¹), adsorbent dose (0.1–1.0 gL^-1), pH (for Pb(II): 2–6, for Ni(II): 2–8) and temperature (25°C–45°C) individually, at constant shaking speed of 150 ​rpm. Results showed that removal using biomass attained highest values in as short time as 15 ​min. The investigations also showed the removal is highly effective at lower initial concentrations of heavy metals. Maximum removal of Lead(II) (87.27 ​± ​1.75%) and Nickel(II) (92.57 ​± ​0.77%) was obtained at pH 6 and 45°C and at pH 7 and 25°C, respectively, within 15 ​min with 0.1 gL^-1 biomass. Both the Langmuir model and Freundlich model were seen to fit the equilibrium data. Further, Artificial Neural Network was used to model the biosorption process. Subsequently, Particle Swarm Optimization was applied to optimize the operating conditions for the removal of both the metals.     

Biosorption of copper(II) and cadmium(II) by a novel exopolysaccharide secreted from deep-sea mesophilic bacterium

The biosorption behaviors and mechanisms of a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS), which is secreted by a mesophilic bacterium (namely Wangia profunda (SM-A87)) isolated from deep-sea sediment, for heavy metals Cu(II) and Cd(II) have been studied in this paper. The effects of SM-A87 EPS concentration, solution pH and ionic strength on the metal uptake were investigated by employing batch adsorption techniques, respectively. The optimum biosorption capacities were observed at pH 5.0 for Cu(II) with 48.0 mg/g and pH 6.0 for Cd(II) with 39.75 mg/g, respectively. Addition of salts decreased Cu(II) or Cd(II) uptake in the order of K⁺ < Na⁺ < Ca²⁺. Langmuir and Freundlich models were employed to describe the biosorption equilibrium data, indicating the favorable biosorption occurs and larger biosorption capacity and intensity for Cu(II) than for Cd(II). The biosorption kinetics for both metals can be well described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model, compared with pseudo-first-order and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models. The competitive biosorption was also studied, indicating that in two-component solution with different metal ratios, the selective biosorption of SM-A87 EPS for Cu(II) was much higher than for Cd(II). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis indicated possible functional groups (e.g., OH, COO and COC) of SM-A87 EPS involved in metal biosorption process, which indicated the potential of using SM-A87 EPS as an effective sorbent for Cu(II) or Cd(II) removal from water.     

Biosorption of mercury by carboxymethylcellulose and immobilized Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Phanerochaete chrysosporium basidiospores immobilized onto carboxymethylcellulose were used for the removal of mercury ions from aqueous solutions. The biosorption of Hg(II) ions onto carboxymethylcellulose and both immobilized live and heat-inactivated fungal mycelia of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was studied using aqueous solutions in the concentration range 30-700 mg l⁻¹. The biosorption of Hg(II) ions by the carboxymethylcellulose and both live and heat-inactivated immobilized preparations increased as the initial concentration of mercury ions increased in the medium. Maximum biosorption capacity for immobilized live and heat-inactivated fungal mycelia of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was found to be 83.10 and 102.15 mg Hg(II) g⁻¹, respectively, whereas the amount of Hg(II) ions adsorbed onto the plain carboxymethylcellulose beads was 39.42 mg g⁻¹. Biosorption equilibria were established in approximately 1 h and the correlation regression coefficients show that the adsorption process can be well defined by a Langmuir equation. Temperature changes between 15 and 45 °C did not affect the biosorption capacity. The effect of pH was also investigated and the maximum adsorption of Hg(II) ions onto the carboxymethylcellulose and both live and heat-inactivated immobilized fungal mycelia was observed at pH 6.0. The carboxymethylcellulose-fungus beads could be regenerated using 10 mM HCl, with up to 95% recovery. The biosorbents were used in three biosorption-desorption cycles and no significant loss in the biosorption capacity was observed.     

Biosorption of copper (II) and lead (II) from aqueous solutions by nonliving green algae Cladophora fascicularis: Equilibrium, kinetics and environmental effects

Biosorption of Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ by Cladop- hora fascicularis was investigated as a function of initial pH, initial heavy metal concentrations, temperature and other co-existing ions. Adsorption equilibriums were well described by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum adsorption capacities were 1.61 mmol/g for Cu²⁺ and 0.96 mmol/g for Pb²⁺ at 298 K and pH 5.0. The adsorption processes were endothermic and biosorption heats calculated by the Langmuir constant b were 39.0 and 29.6 kJ/mol for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺, respectively. The biosorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order model. No significant effect on the uptake of Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ by co-existing cations and anions was observed, except EDTA. Desorption experiments indicated that Na₂EDTA was an efficient desorbent for the recovery of Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ from biomass. The results showed that Cladophora fascicularis was an effective and economical biosorbent material for the removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from wastewater.     

Simultaneous determination of Hg(II) and Cu(II) in water samples using fluorescence quenching sensor of N-doped and N,K co-doped graphene quantum dots

The present study was aimed to use of N doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) and N,K co-doped graphene quantum dots (N,K-GQDs) as a fluorescence quenching sensor to determine both mercury and copper in water sample, simultaneously using simple fluorescence protocol. Each of N-GQDs or N,K-GQDs was optimized separately with 1–5% (w/v) HNO₃ or KNO₃, respectively, and their quantum yields were determined and compared. It was found that N-GQDs, obtained from 3% (w/v) HNO₃ doped resulted higher fluorescence intensity at the maximum excitation and emission wavelengths of 370 and 460 nm, respectively, with higher quantum yield (QY = 83.42%) compared with that of undoped GQDs (QY = 16.35%). While N,K-GQDs obtained from 5%(w/v) KNO₃ gave somewhat different fluorescence spectrum, but still had the same maximum excitation and emission wavelengths with rather highest QY (94.07%). However, it is interesting that detection sensitivity expressed as slope of their calibration curve (y = 5.43x − 19.48; r² = 0.9971) of the N-GQDs is rather higher than that (y = 1.29x + 17.66; r² = 0.9977) of the N,K-GQDs for Hg²⁺ fluorescence quenching sensor, and the fluorescence intensity of N-GQDs had better selectively quenching effect only by both Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺. Thus, their quenching effects were selected to develop the fluorescence turn-off sensor for trace level of both metal ions in real water samples. For method validation, the N-GQDs exhibited high sensitivity to detect both Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ with wide linear ranges of 20–100 μM and 100–500 μM, respectively. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were 0.42 μM & 1.41 μM for Hg²⁺ and 13.19 μM & 43.97 μM for Cu²⁺, respectively, with their precision expressed as an intra-day and an inter-day analysis of 6.98% & 11.35% for Hg²⁺ and 11.78% & 9.43% for Cu²⁺, respectively. Also the study of matrix analysis of the water samples (drinking water and tap water), was carried out using N-GQDs and N,K-GQDs resulted good percentage recoveries in comparison with those using undoped GQDs under the same optimum conditions.     

New method for evaluation of heavy metal binding to alginate beads using pH and conductivity data

Extensive research has been conducted for removal and recovery of heavy metals from wastewater and industrial wastewater in recent years. Due to its low cost and high sorption efficiency, alginate was extensively investigated as a biosorbent. It is known that the sorption of metals to alginate is rate limited. However, the sampling in the beginning of experiments, from 30 seconds to few minutes, is very difficult, if not impossible. In this study, a nontraditional experimental method was used to determine the removal kinetics of metals for short time periods. A relationship among pH, conductivity, and metal concentration was established. It was shown that the sorption mechanism was ion exchange for all metals investigated in this study. A series of experiments was conducted to determine the ion exchange kinetics of different metals at varying pH conditions. Second order pseudo rate kinetics was shown to define the experimental findings well. Results also showed that the extent of exchange significantly reduced as the pH decreased. The selectivity of metal exchange to alginate beads was determined. It was observed that the extent of the ion exchange was greatest for Cu^{2 +} and lowest for Mn^{2 +} and Fe^{2 +}, following the order of Cu^{2 +} > Zn²⁺≅ Co^{2 +}≅ Ni²⁺ > Mn²⁺≅ Fe²⁺.     

A highly selective turn-on fluorescent chemosensor for copper(II) ion

A new pyrene derivative (1) containing a diaminomaleonitrile moiety exhibits high selectivity for Cu²⁺ detection. Significant fluorescence enhancement was observed with chemosensor 1 in the presence of Cu²⁺. However, the metal ions Ag⁺, Ca²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Hg²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Zn²⁺ produced only minor changes in fluorescence values for the system. The apparent association constant (K_a) of Cu²⁺ binding in chemosensor 1 was found to be 5.55×10³ M⁻¹. The maximum fluorescence enhancement caused by Cu²⁺ binding in chemosensor 1 was observed over the pH range 5-7.5.     

Studies on the Uptake of Rare Earth Elements on Polyacrylamidoxime Resins from Natural Concentrate Leachate Solutions

Synthesis of poly(acrylamidoxime) resin from polyacrylonitrile performed with different crosslinking ratios 2, 5, and 10 wt% of divinylbenzene as crosslinking agent, using methylbenzoate and dioctylphthalate as pore producing solvent, the reaction mixture occurred under nitrogen. Studies carried out on diluted solution from rare earth elements (REEs) concentrate contains impurities as Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Si⁴⁺, Th⁴⁺, U⁶⁺, Ca²⁺, and K⁺. Changing some parameters as pH of the solution, time of feeding and type of acid as HCl, HNO₃, H₂SO₄. The adsorption efficiency of resin is in the order pH 6 > pH 5 > pH 4 > pH 2 with excluding pH 6 due to the precipitation of some of REEs with the impurities and complete precipitation of Dy ion during pH adjustment, the adsorption in HNO₃ > HCl > H₂SO₄ media.     

Poly(ammonium/ pyridinium)-chitosan Schiff base as a smart biosorbent for scavenging of Cu2+ ions from aqueous effluents

Chitosan Schiff bases (CSBs) decorated with ammonium or pyridinium motifs for recyclable biosorption of Cu²⁺ ions from aqueous effluents were tailored by grafting of salicylaldehyde ionic liquids (Sal-ILs) onto chitosan surface. Biosorption capacity of poly(ionic-salicylidene) CSBs (PISCSB_1,2) was compared with chitosan and poly(neural-salicylidene) CSBs (PSCSB). The ionic salicylidene-functionalized chitosan, poly(pyridinium)-salicylidene chitosan Schiff base (PISCSB₂), exhibited excellent adsorption capacity (99.1%), in comparison to chitosan (85%) and PSCSB (95%). Biosorption of Cu²⁺ ions onto PSCSB followed pseudo-first-order kinetic model while onto chitosan (CS) and PISCSB_1,2 followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model. However, Cu²⁺ ions biosorption onto all biosorbents fitted Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Negative values of ΔG^o and ΔH^o confirmed the spontaneity and exothermic behavior of adsorption process. The new biosorbents could be successfully regenerated in aqueous 0.01 M EDTA solution with negligible loss in their adsorption capacity. Consequently, our new chitosan-based biosorbents may offer promising green and renewable scavengers for Cu²⁺ ions from wastewater.     

Crayfish Shell Waste as Safe Biosorbent for Removal of Cu2+ and Pb2+ from Synthetic Wastewater

Crayfish shell is an abundant natural waste and is also a potential biosorbent for pollutants, especially, heavy metals. In this study, the safety of the use of crayfish shell as a biosorbent was first assessed by release experiments involving primary heavy metal ions, such as Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Cr³⁺, in aqueous solution under different environmental conditions. The release concentrations of heavy metals were dependent on pH, ionic strength, and humic acid; and the maximum release concentrations of heavy metals were still lower than the national standard. Specifically, Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ removal by crayfish shell in synthetic wastewater was investigated. The removal process involved biosorption, precipitation, and complexation, and the results indicate that crayfish shell is an excellent biosorbent for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ removal. The precipitation step is particularly dependent on Ca species, pH, and temperature. The maximum removal capacities of Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ were 676.20 and 119.98 mg/g, respectively. The related precipitates and the generated complex products include Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂, Ca₂CuO₃, CuCO₃, Pb₂CO₃(OH)₂, CaPb₃O₄, and PbCO₃.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel ion-imprinted polymeric nanoparticles for very fast and highly selective recognition of copper(II) ions

This work reports the preparation of new Cu²⁺ ion-imprinted polymeric nanoparticles using 1-hydroxy-4-(prop-2′-enyloxy)-9,10-anthraquinone (AQ) as a vinylated chelating agent. The Cu²⁺ ion found to form a stable 1:1 complex with AQ in methanol solution. The resulting Cu²⁺-AQ complex was copolymerized with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, as a cross-linking monomer, via precipitation polymerization method. The imprint copper ion was removed from the polymeric matrix using a 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ solution. The Cu²⁺-imprinted polymeric nanoparticles were characterized by IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms. The SEM micrographs showed colloidal nanoparticles of 60-100 nm in diameter and slightly irregular in shape. Optimum pH for maximum sorption was 7.0. Sorption and desorption of Cu²⁺ ion on the IIP nanoparticles were quite fast and achieved completely over entire investigated time periods of 2-30 min. Maximum sorbent capacity and enrichment factor of the prepared IIP for Cu²⁺ were 73.8 μmol g⁻¹ and 56.5, respectively. The relative standard deviation and limit of detection (C_LOD = 3S_b/m) of the method were evaluated as 2.6% and 0.1 ng mL⁻¹, using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, respectively. It was found that the imprinting technology results in increased affinity of the prepared material toward Cu²⁺ ion over other metal ions with the same charge and close ionic radius. The relative standard deviations for six and twenty replicates with the same nanoparticles were found to be 1.7% and 2.1%, respectively.     

An inorganic-organic hybrid material from the co-intercalation of a cationic surfactant and thiourea within montmorillonite layers: application to the sensitive stripping voltammetric detection of Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions

A smectite-based inorganic-organic hybrid material was prepared by a one-step intercalation of cetyltrimethylammonium ions and thiourea within the interlayer space of montmorillonite (MT). The surface and textural properties of the resulting material were examined using several techniques (X-ray diffraction, elementary analysis and N₂ adsorption-desorption experiments (BET method)) that demonstrated the presence of both modifiers in the clay mineral structure. The presence of thiourea molecules in the modified MT greatly improved its ability towards the fixation of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ ions when the organoclay material was used for sensing purposes as a glassy carbon electrode modifier. The electro-analytical procedure was based on the chemical accumulation of both analytes under open-circuit conditions, followed by the detection of the preconcentrated species using square wave voltammetry. Upon optimization of different parameters likely to influence the electrode response, linear calibration graphs were obtained in the concentration ranges from 0.1 to 1 μM and 0.01 to 0.1 μM for Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺, respectively, leading to low limits of detection (4.2 × 10⁻¹⁰ M for Pb²⁺and 1.2 × 10⁻⁹ M for Cd²⁺).     

Modelling of the Sorption of Sr(II) on Hydrous Zirconium Oxide

The amphoteric acid-base behavior of hydrous zirconium oxide (HZO) was investigated by titrating HZO with 0.05M HNO₃ and NaOH at constant ionic strength. The sorption of strontium from 0.05M NaNO₃ solution was measured as a function of pH. Abrupt increase in sorption was observed at the equilibrium pH of 9. The experimental titration and strontium sorption data on HZO were evaluated using the constant capacitance model (CCM) and diffuse double layer model (DLM). Various model parameters of Surface Complexation Models (SCM) were estimated, numerically, by non-linear regression. Modeling the sorption and speciation of Sr²⁺ on HZO indicated that the hydrolysis of Sr²⁺ to lower charged SrOH⁺ is the pre-requisite for the abrupt sorption behavior at pH 9.     

Impact of environmental conditions on the sorption behavior of radionuclide <Superscript>60</Superscript>Co(II) on MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The fate and transport of toxic metal ions and radionuclides in the environment is generally controlled by sorption reactions. The removal of ⁶⁰Co(II) from wastewaters by MnO₂ was studied as a function of various environmental parameters such as shaking time, pH, ionic strength, foreign ions, and humic substances under ambient conditions. The results indicated that the sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) on MnO₂ was strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. At low pH, the sorption of ⁶⁰Co(II) was dominated by outer-sphere surface complexation and ion exchange with Na⁺/H⁺ on MnO₂ surfaces, whereas inner-sphere surface complexation was the main sorption mechanism at high pH. The presence of HA/FA enhances ⁶⁰Co(II) sorption at low pH values, whereas reduces ⁶⁰Co(II) sorption at high pH values. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to simulate the sorption isotherms of ⁶⁰Co(II) at three different temperatures of 298.15, 318.15 and 338.15 K. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH ⁰, ΔS ⁰ and ΔG ⁰) calculated from the temperature dependent sorption isotherms indicated that the sorption process of ⁶⁰Co(II) on MnO₂ was endothermic and spontaneous.     

Enhanced Removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) from Aqueous Solutions by Pretreated Biomass of Fusarium Solani

This study investigated the feasibility of Fusarium solani biomass as a biosorbent for Cu(II) and Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions. Batch sorption experiments were carried out for Cu(II) and Pb(II) to quantify the sorption kinetics, pH, biosorbent dose and pretreatment of F. solani biomass. Biomass metal uptake clearly competed with protons present in the aqueous medium, making pH an important variable in the process. The maximum biosorption by F. solani biomass was obtained with solutions having pH 5 for both metal ions. An enhanced Cu(II) removal (96.53%) was observed for aluminum hydroxide pretreated biomass. Maximum Pb(II) removal (95.48%) was observed with native biomass. Time dependence experiments for the metal ions uptake showed that adsorption equilibrium reached almost 240 min after metal addition. The kinetic studies showed that the biosorption process followed the pseudo second‐order rate model for Cu(II) and Pb(II). The equilibrium data fitted well to the Langmiur isotherm model.     

Sorption behavior of Am<Superscript>3+</Superscript> on suspended pyrite

Sorption behavior of ²⁴¹Am (~10⁻⁹ M) on naturally occurring mineral pyrite (particle size: ≤70 μm) has been studied under varying conditions of pH (2–11), and ionic strength (0.01–1.0 M (NaClO₄)). The effects of humic acid (2 mg/L), other complexing anions (1 × 10⁻⁴ M CO₃ ²⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, C₂O₄ ²⁻ and PO₄ ³⁻), di- and trivalent metal ions (1 × 10⁻³ M Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Nd³⁺) on sorption behavior of Am³⁺ at a fixed ionic strength (I = 0.10 M (NaClO₄)) have been studied. The sorption of ²⁴¹Am on pyrite increased with pH from 2.8 (84%) to 8.1 (97%). The sorption of ²⁴¹Am decreased with ionic strength at low pH values (2 ≤ pH ≤ 4), but was insensitive in the pH range of 4–10, suggesting the formation of outer-sphere complexes on pyrite surface at lower pH, and inner-sphere complexes at higher pH values. The sorption of ²⁴¹Am increased in the presence of (i) humic acid (5 < pH < 7.5), and (ii) C₂O₄ ²⁻ (2 < pH < 3). By contrast, other complexing anions such as (carbonate, phosphate, and sulphate) showed negligible influence on ²⁴¹Am sorption. The presence of Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ ions showed marginal effect on the sorption profile of ²⁴¹Am; while the presence of Nd³⁺ ion suppressed its sorption significantly under the conditions of present study. The sorption of ²⁴¹Am on pyrite decreased with increased temperature indicating an exothermic process.     

Adsorption of UO2 2+ on poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid): effects of pH, ionic strength, initial uranyl concentration, and temperature

We prepared poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (P(DEA-co-AA)) microgels which could efficiently remove UO₂ ²⁺ from aqueous solutions. In this study, the effect of adsorption parameters such as pH value, adsorbent dose, shaking time, and temperature has investigated. It is found that the pseudo-second-order model is more suitable for our experiment. The adsorption kinetic data indicated that the chemical adsorption was the swiftness processes, the adsorption equilibrium could be achieved within 30 min. And there are very good correlation coefficients of linearized equations for Langmuir isotherm model, which indicated that the sorption isotherm of the hydrogel for UO₂ ²⁺ can be fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption process was spontaneous (?G ⁰ < 0) and exothermic (?H ⁰ < 0). The adsorbed UO₂ ²⁺ can be desorbed effectively by 0.1 M HNO₃ and the adsorption capacity is not significantly reduced after five cycles. Present study suggests that this P(DEA-co-AA) can be used as a potential adsorbent for sorption UO₂ ²⁺ and also provide a simple, fast separation method for removal of UO₂ ²⁺ ions from aqueous solution.     

Effect of pH on Competitive Adsorption of Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) from Water onto Chitosan Beads

The amounts of adsorption of Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺ from single, binary, and tertiary nitrate solutions onto glutaraldehyde cross-linked chitosan beads were measured. The beads had an average particle size and pore volume of 2 mm and 0.06 cm³/g, respectively, and had a BET surface area of 60 m²/g. All experiments were performed at 298 K as a function of initial pH (2.0–5.0), total metal concentration (0.77–17.0 mol/m³), and molar concentration ratio (0.25–4) in the aqueous phase. It was shown that the amount of metal adsorption generally increased with increasing solution pH. Competitive adsorption was significant in binary and tertiary systems when Cu²⁺ was present. The selectivity factor reached maximum in an equilibrium pH range of 5.1–5.3 and 4.5–4.9 for the Cu-Ni and Cu-Zn binary systems, respectively. This adsorbent provided a possibility for selective separation of Cu²⁺ from such multi-component solutions.     

Nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of unsymmetrical tetradentate reduced Schiff base ligands

Two new reduced Schiff base ligands, [HL¹ = 4-{2-[(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-ethylimino}-pentan-2-one and HL² = 4-[2-(1-pyridin-2-yl-ethylamino)-ethylimino]-pentan-2-one] have been prepared by reduction of the corresponding tetradentate unsymmetrical Schiff bases derived from 1:1: 1 condensation of 1,2-ethanediamine, acetylacetone and pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde/2-acetyl pyridine. Four complexes, [Ni(L¹)]ClO₄ (1), [Cu(L¹)]ClO₄ (2), [Ni(L²)]ClO₄ (3), and [Cu(L²)]ClO₄ (4) with these two reduced Schiff base ligands have been synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. The mono-negative ligands L¹ and L² are chelated in all four complexes through the four donor atoms to form square planar nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes. Structures of 3 and 4 reveal that enantiomeric pairs are crystallized together with opposite chirality in the nitrogen and carbon atoms. The two Cu^II complexes (2 and 4) exhibit both irreversible reductive (Cu^II/Cu^I; E_pc, −1.00 and −1.04 V) and oxidative (Cu^II/Cu^III; E_pa, +1.22 and +1.17 V, respectively) responses in cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemically generated Cu^I species for both the complexes are unstable and undergo disproportionation.