Nano-hematite as a mean for reduction of heavy metal concentration in AMD (acidic mine drainage) materials: structural characterisation with

Structural defects in nanomaterials can be useful for the incorporation, in the structure, of alien cations of different sizes. Using nanomaterials for the adsorption of heavy metals from liquid phases is then easy, especially because they can easily be separated, analysed and recycled in a circular economy view. Iron oxides are particularly interesting because they can be readily used, provided that the heavy metals are strongly bond into the structure, so that they cannot be released in the environment. The nature of the bond between the heavy metals and these nanomaterials is still largely unknown and it is the main purpose of this proposal, together with the thermal stability of these bonds (and of these materials as a whole).