Abstract
Mercury pollutant, especially ionic mercury (Hg2+), has been ranked by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten chemicals that threatens the major public health. Absorption of Hg2+ on the solid phase is one of the effective ways for water remediation. In view of the disadvantages of most existing absorbents such as laborious preparation, secondary pollution, or time-consuming regeneration process, herein, we developed an aerogel absorbent based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and the auxiliary crosslinker of phytic acid, both of which can readily react through a self-assembly process in the hydrothermal condition. With good mechanical strength, tunable pore size and surface area, the aerogel is adequate in absorbing Hg2+ and organic mercury compound (MeHg+), and can be renewed in a super-fast process (~ 40 s). High removal rate of Hg2+ can be maintained even in presence of the competing ions (Mn2+, Cd2+, Cr2+, Cu2+ and Pb2+). The features of low-cost raw materials, straightforward synthesis, and the easy manipulation in remediation/regeneration process create a promising absorbent material to be used in the real scene.