Enhanced adsorption of cesium ions by electrochemically switched ion exchange method: Based on surface-synthetic Na2Ti3O7 nanotubes

Abstract Cesium ions (Cs + ) were absorbed using electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX) method based on Na 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanotubes, which were synthesized on surface of foam titanium plate by one-step hydrothermal method (TNT-F). SEM, TEM, XRD, Raman and XPS were used to characterize the TNT-F. During the adsorption process, the effects of adsorption potential, initial Cs + concentration, pH value and competing ions were investigated. It was found that the application of electric field force can effectively promote the adsorption process. Furthermore, pH value and competitive ions have a slight effect on the adsorption process. The desorption ability of TNT-F was also considered. The experimental results show that the desorption ratio also can be greatly improved by applying potential. In addition, TNT-F has a good reusability and reproducibility, it also has good adsorption performance under high concentration of competitive ions. In a word, the high performance TNT-F electrode which was easy to obtain in low cost is expected to become a promising material for Cs + collection.