Cerium(IV) diethylenetriamine Penta(Methylene phosphonic acid): Inorganic cation exchanger for separation of metal ions

Herein, cerium(IV) diethylenetriamine penta(methylene phosphonic acid) (CeDETMP) has been prepared and characterized by using various physicochemical techniques (e.g. FTIR, TGA, ICP-AES, XRD, XPS and SEM-EDX). Further, this material has been explored by conducting the sorption and separation studies for some heavy metal ions. Various kinetic models and thermodynamic parameters have been applied to find the feasibility and mechanism of the exchange process for the metal ions taken for study. As a result, the exchange process follows a Langmuir adsorption isotherm with a second-order kinetic model. A study on regeneration shows that material can be reused without loss significant cation exchange capacity. The obtained results demonstrate the promising use of CeDETMP as an inorganic cation exchange material for the removal of inorganic pollutants.