High efficient arsenic removal by In-layer sulphur of layered double hydroxide

High-risk arsenic contamination found in aqueous system is reported across the world and causing severe environmental issues. In this study, the Mg-Al Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) modified by sulphur species (LDH-S) was found exhibiting high effectivity and selectivity in As(V) removal owing to the strong interaction between embedded HS- and AsO43-. The LDH-S with Mg to Al ratio 2–1 give the best performance with As(V) adsorption capacity 40.8 mg/g, which is 715% higher than that of pristine LDH (2–1). The adsorbent exhibits a high tolerance to concentrated competitive anions. In the continuous flow test, the adsorbent can reduce the As(V) concentration from 20 ppm to below-ppb-level indicating the potential in industry application. The adsorption mechanism is experimentally investigated and examined by Density Function Theory (DFT) calculation. The result illustrates that, differ from the traditional ion exchange mechanism of LDH, the enhanced removal capacity and selectivity of LDH-S for As(V) is attributed to the strong affinity between H atom from HS- ion (in the interlayer region of LDH) and the O atom from AsO43-.