Technologies for the 21st century: Carbon nanotubes as adsorbents of metals

Abstract

Nowadays and in the recent past when the word "nano" appeared in almost anything it attracted immediate attention and interest, this is why carbon nanotubes, since its discovery nearly twenty years ago, caught the interest of a wide scientific and industrial population to apply the somewhat amazing properties of these nanomaterials in a number of applications. Among them, the removal of toxic and sometimes profitable metals from aqueous streams appeared, due to its economical and social impact, as one of the targets for their uses. This paper reviews some recent advances (2009-2013 years) in the application of carbon nanotubes materials in the removal of a variety of metals from these aqueous streams.