Manganese has excellent performance in removing metal
ions from
aqueous solutions, but there are few studies on the adsorption and
removal of heavy metal impurities in metal salt solutions. In this
paper, the adsorption of cobalt and nickel ions in MnSO4 solution by δ-MnO2 prepared from two different
manganese sources was studied. The optimum adsorption conditions were
as follows: When the concentration of Mn2+ was 20 g/L,
δ-MnO2 addition was 10 g/L, Co2+ concentration
was 80 mg/L, Ni2+ concentration was 80 mg/L, reaction time
was 60 min, reaction temperature was 80 °C, and pH value was
7, the adsorption rate of Co2+ and Ni2+ reached
more than 80%. The manganese dioxide adsorbed by heavy metals was
analyzed and detected. The results showed that MnOOH appeared in the
phases of both kinds of δ-MnO2, and their morphologies
were dense rod-like structures with different lengths and flake-like
structures of fine particles. Co and Ni were distributed on the surface
and gap of MnO2 particles, and the atomic percentage of
Co was slightly higher than that of Ni. The new vibration peaks appeared
near wave numbers of 2668.32, 1401.00, and 2052.19 cm–1, which were caused by the complexation of cations such as Co2 + and Ni2 + with hydroxyl groups. Some
cobalt and nickel appeared on the surface of δ-MnO2, and the surface oxygen increased after adsorption. The above characterization
revealed that the adsorption of cobalt and nickel in manganese sulfate
by δ-MnO2 was realized by the reaction of its surface
hydroxyl with metal ions (M) to form SOMOH.