Effective removal of mercury from aqueous streams via electrochemical alloy formation on platinum
Journal article, 2018

Retrieval of mercury from aqueous streams has significant environmental and societal importance due to its very high toxicity and mobility. We present here a method to retrieve mercury from aqueous feeds via electrochemical alloy formation on thin platinum films. This application is a green and effective alternative to traditional chemical decontamination techniques. Under applied potential, mercury ions in solution form a stable PtHg4 alloy with platinum on the cathode. A 100 nanometres platinum film was fully converted to a 750 nanometres thick layer of PtHg4. The overall removal capacity is very high, > 88 g mercury per cm3. The electrodes can easily be regenerated after use. Efficient and selective decontamination is possible in a wide pH range, allowing processing of industrial, municipal, and natural waters. The method is suited for both high and low concentrations of mercury and can reduce mercury levels far below the limits allowed in drinking water.

Author

Cristian Tunsu

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Energy and Material

Björn Wickman

Chalmers, Physics, Chemical Physics

Nature Communications

2041-1723 (ISSN) 20411723 (eISSN)

Vol. 9 1 4876- 4876

Vattenrening och återvinning av tungmetaller med elektrokemiska legeringar

ÅForsk (Agreement16-478), 2016-06-01 -- 2017-10-31.

Magnus Bergvalls Stiftelse (2016-01423), 2017-08-21 -- 2018-08-22.

Areas of Advance

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Energy

Materials Science

Subject Categories

Materials Chemistry

Other Chemical Engineering

Other Physics Topics

Infrastructure

Nanofabrication Laboratory

DOI

10.1038/s41467-018-07300-z

PubMed

30451827

More information

Latest update

4/5/2022 1