Removal of cobalt from aqueous solution containing EDTA under UV-C irradiation by antimony oxide

摘要

Antimony oxide was synthesized by a simple method involving the mixing of 6M HCl and antimony pentachloride, adjusting the synthesis pH with 25% ammonia. The obtained material was characterized using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and surface area and pore size analysis. The material structure resembled that of Sb6O13. The cobalt sorption efficiency of the synthesized antimony oxide was tested in the dark and under UV-C irradiation. The 0.01M NaNO3 test solution contained varying concentrations of Co2+ and EDTA and was traced with Co-57. The cobalt concentration in the solutions was determined by gamma spectroscopy. The synthesized material proved to have a high cobalt uptake. In the presence of 20 mu M EDTA, 99.7% of cobalt was removed from the solution after 2 h of UV-C irradiation.