The carbon nanotubes-based materials and their applications for organic pollutant removal: A critical review

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with special nano-sized structure, relatively large specific surface areas and electrical conductivity characteristics could be rationally designed to different types of CNTs-based materials for organic pollutant removal in adsorption process and AOPs. The review summarizes in-depth insights into the characteristics and mechanisms of CNTs-based materials applied in wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the emerging materials for organic pollutant removal have gradually become a burgeoning research field. Herein, a mini-review of CNTs-based materials currently studies for organic pollutant elimination is presented. This review summarizes the preparation methods of CNTs-based materials. CNTs-based materials can be used as adsorbents to remove organic pollutants in wastewater. The adsorption mechanisms mainly include surface diffusion, pore diffusion and adsorption reaction. Most importantly, an in-depth overview of CNTs-based materials currently available in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) applications for wastewater treatment is proposed. CNTs-based materials can catalyze different oxidants (e.g., hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), persulfates (PMS/PDS), ozone (O3) and ferrate/permanganate (Fe(VI)/Mn(VII)) to generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) for organic pollutant elimination. Moreover, the possible reaction mechanisms of removing organic pollutants by CNTs-based materials are summarized systematically and discussed in detail. Finally, application potential and future research directions of CNTs-based materials in the environmental remediation field are proposed.