Synthesis, characterization and application of Cu–TiO2/chitosan nanocomposite thin film for the removal of some heavy metals from aquatic media

Abstract

A novel Cu–TiO2/chitosan hybrid thin film was successfully prepared without any heat treatment process by sol–gel method on a polycarbonate substrate. Based on the photocatalytic activity and adsorption property of the entire thin film, a simple, reliable, reproducible and inexpensive method was developed for the removal of some heavy metals from aquatic media. The removal process of Pb2+ and Cr6+ was performed by flotation of coated polycarbonate substrate in the bulk of sample for a definite time in absence and presence of light. The effect of influential parameters in removal process, including thin film surface area, removal time, sample volume and pH was investigated and variation in selected ion concentrations was monitored using a graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrometer. Considering the optimized conditions, effect of interference ions was studied and according relative standard deviation amounts, no evidence of interference was observed. The proposed method showed good reproducibility in a way that the amounts of relative standard deviation percentage values (n = 10) for Pb2+ and Cr6+ were obtained 4.303 and 3.865, respectively. The whole procedure showed to be conveniently applicable and quite easy to manipulate.