Application of Nano-Adsorbents in Removal of Mercury From Aqueous Solution

Access to clean and pure water is a prime need of all living creatures worldwide. The integrated effect of rapid population rise and industrial development has led to a critical situation where all the living organisms on earth are affected directly or indirectly by environmental pollution involving water, air, and soil. As a limited natural resource, its protection and safety are of grave concern. Therefore, eliminating heavy metals and other pollutants from water resources is paramount. The existing decontamination techniques, such as ion exchange and reverse osmosis, suffer many disadvantages; hence, the focus has been shifted to developing novel, efficient techniques to remove heavy metals such as mercury from the water. The adsorption based on nanoadsorbents has gained popularity due to its ease of operation and cost-effectiveness. This chapter highlights the recent advances in water decontamination methods using nanoadsorbents, including polymeric nanocomposites, transition metal chalcogenides (MoS2), polyrhodanine coated magnetite nanoparticles, chitosan-coated magnetite nanoparticles, TiO2 nanoparticles, Fe3O4/Au nanocomposite, polyacrylate-modified carbon composite, and carbon nanotubes based nanocomposite. Finally, the fate of nanoparticles used for wastewater decontamination is discussed.