In
this study, porous magnetic Ni0.6Fe2.4O4 nanorods (MNs) were successfully synthesized just by
calcining the Ni0.6Fe2.4C2O4·2H2O precursor. MNs exhibited porous structure with
disorderly nanorods based on the characterizations. Experimental results
showed that the removal of U(VI) by MNs can reach equilibrium within
150 min at 293 K with a maximal adsorption capacity of 57.7 mg/g.
Besides, the adsorption performance was highly dependent on solution
pH values, while ion strength and ion species had little influence.
The U(VI) adsorption onto the MNs was fitted better by the pseudo-second-order
kinetic model, and the isothermal data can be better described by
the Langmuir model, suggesting a monolayer adsorption process. Thermodynamic
studies indicated the adsorption process to be spontaneous and endothermic.
In addition, this magnetic material can achieve convenient separation
using an external magnet. Hence, the MNs can be utilized as an effective
candidate to enrich and separate U(VI) from aqueous solutions.