A facile method for synthesis of bismuth oxide nanoparticles on anion exchange resin and its salt removal ability for saline water

In this work, a method was applied to produce bismuth oxide nanoparticles on anion exchange resin (AR@Bi2O3), which was then applied effectively for removing salts in aqueous solution of NaCl and real-world saline water. The results from SEM, EDX, XRD, and FTIR confirm the preparation of AR@Bi2O3 with a crystalline structure and high purity as well as the effective adsorption of salt on the surface of the material. The salt removal was investigated under various conditions of contact time, solution pH, adsorbent mass, initial salt concentration, and solution temperature. The salt adsorption of AR@Bi2O3 reached an equilibrium capacity of 280 mg/g after 45 min, which is best described by the intraparticle diffusion model. Moreover, pH 5 was found to be the optimal value for salt adsorption and Freundlich is the best model for describing the adsorption process, which was a spontaneous process (∆G < 0). The adsorption capacity of the AR@Bi2O3 material likely remained stable at over 260 mg/g even after 10 cycles of adsorption-regeneration, indicating a great potential for practical application of AR@Bi2O3 in saline water treatment.