Review Hall of Fame Article www.advmatinterfaces.de Novel 2D Nanosheets with Potential Applications in Heavy Metal Purification: A Review Liangjie Fu, Zhaoli Yan, Qihang Zhao, and Huaming Yang* cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and chromium (Cr) are the main causes for most heavy metal-related diseases, for which the toxicity mechanisms and their relationship to the induction of oxidative stress were reported.[5] Various techniques, including chemical precipitation, ion exchange, adsorption, flotation, membrane filtration, and electrochemical treatment, have been used for the efficient removal of heavy metals from water,[3] in which adsorption is one of the most attractive options. Chemical precipitation is widely used for high concentration wastewater for the low capital cost and simple process, while ion exchange resins are limited for large scale use due to the high cost and secondary pollution under regeneration. The adsorption method, although highly sensitive on the type of adsorbents, is one of the most attractive options. To date, various novel nanomaterials, such as graphene family members, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, fullerene, metal, and metal oxide nanoparticles, and others were used for water protection.[4] Active carbons, produced from various biomaterials or industrial wastes were widely studied for water purification.[6,7] Low-cost adsorbents, such as raw and modified lignocellulosic materials,[8] were found to exhibit high adsorption capacities compared to commercial activated carbon.[9,10] So far, carbon materials and their composite materials are some most active and hitherto extensively studied materials.[11–15] 2D nanosheets are an emerging class of nanomaterials that possess sheet-like morphologies, which are composed by layer structures with lateral size larger than 100 nm and thickness less than 10 nm. It is well known that the formation of nanosheets with 2D structures from inorganic compounds will increase their specific surface area due to the decrease of the dimension of nanoparticles and meanwhile alter their physical and chemical properties.[16–19] To date, 2D nanosheets of various inorganic compounds were reported with great diversity in physicochemical, electronic, and surface chemical properties, which make them highly promising in the field of energy storage,[17] electronics and catalysis,[16,20,21] as well as in water purification.[13,22–25] In this review, we discuss the advantages of the composition and structure of various 2D nanosheets for heavy metal purification, and then discuss current status of their applications and future perspectives. Over the past decades, extensive studies have been carried out for the design of advanced materials for water purification. Heavy metal pollution in water is a serious global environmental problem due to their toxicity and carcinogenicity. With the discovery of graphene, novel 2D nanosheets, derived from the wide variety of traditional materials, have emerged as some of the most promising candidates for heavy metal purification. This review summarizes the recent progress on the novel 2D nanosheets with their applications in heavy metal purification. First, the authors introduce the unique advances on 2D nanomaterials, followed by the description of their composition and crystal structures. Some novel 2D nanosheets with great success in heavy metal purification field are then summarized, including insights on their advantages over traditional materials and limitations in practical applications, along with some advances in interfacial structure modifications for future work. The functional design of more and more novel 2D interfacial materials with unique properties is still demanding for future industrial applications. 1. Introduction Heavy metal pollution in water, especially drinking water, is a serious global environmental problem due to their toxicity and carcinogenicity. They are commonly defined as metals with atomic weights between 63.5 and 200.6 g mol−1 or a density of more than 5 g cm−3.[1–4] These heavy metals are difficult to degrade, easy to accumulate in living organisms through the food chain, and tend to cause greater risk to human health and environment. Among various heavy metals, lead (Pb), Dr. L. Fu, Dr. Z. Yan, Dr. Q. Zhao, Prof. H. Yang Centre for Mineral Materials School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering Central South University Changsha 410083, China E-mail: [email protected] Dr. L. Fu, Dr. Z. Yan, Dr. Q. Zhao, Prof. H. Yang Hunan Key Lab of Mineral Materials and Application Central South University Changsha 410083, China Prof. H. Yang State Key Lab of Powder Metallurgy Central South University Changsha 410083, China The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201801094. DOI: 10.1002/admi.201801094 Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 1801094 (1 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de 2. Composition and Structure of Heavy Metal Complex The molecular form of heavy metal complex can be divided into cationic and anionic types depending on their charge state. The heavy metal ions normally existed in the ion form of Mz+ species in nature water and chelated with other groups in acid wastewater, while polynuclear species might form under concentrated level or alkali conditions.[2,26,27] Among the toxic heavy metal ions, ions like Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cu can simply exist in the form of Mz+ or bonded with one or more hydroxyl groups under hydrolysis. These cations exist simply as M2+ at pHs well below 7, but precipitate to hydroxylated species or soluble hydroxides.[28] The aqueous species of Pb(II) and Cd(II) are influenced by the solution pH and the coexisting anions. The hydroxylated species and the polynuclear species may also occur at high pH or concentration level above 0.01 m due to the hydrolysis of ions.[17] Hg can be Hg+ or Hg2+, and has a strong tendency to bind with halide ions and form toxic RHg+ or self-perpetuate to form dimer species. Cr(VI), as a common contaminant in surface and ground water, was widely used in industries. In aqueous solution, the toxic Cr(VI) exists in different ionic forms primarily as HCrO4−, Cr2O72−, CrO42−, and H2CrO4, dependent on the Cr(VI) concentration and pH value. One preferred method to purify Cr(VI)-contained wastewater is the photocatalytic/catalytic reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), which is less toxic and can be easily precipitated and removed.[29] At pH range 1.0–6.5, HCrO4− is the dominant species, while at pH above 6.0 CrO42− species increases. Cr2O72− is the dominant species at Cr(VI) concentration above 0.01 m and low pH value, while H2CrO4 predominates at pH value lower than 0.8.[30] Arsenic, commonly existed as arsenite and arsenate in natural water, are referred as As(III) and As(V).[31] As(III) favors the bonding with oxides and nitrides, while As(V) favors sulfides, which are both sensitive to pH and redox conditions. As(V) species include H3AsO4, H2AsO4−, HAsO42−, and AsO43− while As(III) species include As(OH)3, As(OH)4−, AsO2OH2−, and AsO33−. Normally, for heavy metal ions with multiple valence states, high-valent species predominate and are stable in oxygen rich aerobic environments, while low-valent species predominate in moderately reducing anaerobic environments such as groundwater. 3. Composition and Structure of 2D Nanosheets Decreasing the dimension of nanomaterials could increase the specific surface area and alter structure crystallinity, which will affect the surface structure and thermodynamics properties, as well as chemical reactivity.[4] The composition and crystal structures of various 2D nanomaterials which can be exfoliated from their corresponding bulk materials are well known, as well as their synthetic methods. The well-established synthetic methods for 2D nanosheet include micromechanical cleavage, chemical vapor deposition, wet-chemical syntheses, and liquid exfoliation under mechanical force, ion intercalation, ion exchange, oxidation, or selective etching, all of which can be categorized into two categories: top-down and bottom-up methods.[19] Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 Liangjie Fu is currently an associate professor at Central South University, China, where he received his Ph.D. in Materials Science in 2014 under the guidance of Professor Huaming Yang. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab and NEAT ORU at the University of California, Davis from 2015–2017. His research mainly focuses on the synthesis and theoretical study of clay mineral materials and metal oxides in the areas of catalysis, energy, and drug delivery. Zhaoli Yan received his B.S. degree from Henan Polytechnic University in 2011 and Ph.D. degree from Central South University in 2018 under the guidance of Professor Huaming Yang. He is currently a lecturer in the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Xinyang Normal University. His research interests include 2D porous clay-based composites for adsorption and catalysis. Huaming Yang is a professor at the School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering at Central South University, China. He completed his Ph.D. at Central South University of Technology in 1998, and went to the University of Bristol as a visiting professor from 2008–2009. His research interests involve the synthesis strategy and application of advanced materials from natural minerals, and the functional design and interfacial structure of mineral materials at atomic-molecular level. To date, since the rise of graphene family, various 2D materials are synthesized by top-down exfoliation method (Figure 1A) from their layer structures.[32] 2D materials such as graphene/graphene oxide/reduced graphene oxide (G/GO/RGO), hexa­gonal boron nitride (h-BN), graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), transition metal carbides/carbonitrides/nitrides (MXenes), clay minerals, layered double hydroxides (LDHs), metal oxide/hydroxide, metal organic frameworks 1801094 (2 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 1. A) Schematic description of the main liquid exfoliation mechanisms: ion intercalation, ion exchange, and sonication-assisted exfoliation. Reproduced with permission.[32] Copyright 2013, Science. B) The pristine and modified atomic structures of graphene, BN, g-C3N4, and MoS2 nanosheets. C) The pristine and modified atomic structures of MXene, MgO, kaolinite, montmorillonite, and LDH nanosheets. (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and other novel 2D hybrids or nanocomposites were widely studied for heavy metal purification, among which the first four are graphene-like 2D nanomaterials that exhibit versatile properties similar to graphene. For these layered materials, the atoms between each layer structures are weakly bonded to each other via van der Waals forces, while the atoms in each layer are strongly bonded via chemical bonds. To date, the adsorption properties of above four layer materials were improved by oxidation (O, OH, COOH groups), reduction (NH2, CN groups), or grafting of some functional groups (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), ethylene Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)) and nanoparticles (zero-valent iron, Fe3O4, MnFe2O4) on surfaces of these nanosheet materials. It should be noted that the corresponding zeta-potential of these 2D nanosheet materials is determined mainly by the charge states of the functional groups. It is well known that for materials with similar structure and chemical components, some slight change in the synthesis details might change adsorption capacity and other properties significantly. For example, the bond lengths of surface bonds at the surface structure of nanosheet are generally slightly longer than that in bulk structures, which are more reactive and accessible for interface modifications. 1801094 (3 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Graphene is a monolayer graphite, in which each C atom is covalently bonded to three neighboring ones through σ-bond (bond distance ≈ 1.42 Å) and forming hexagonal 2D network with a layer distance of about 3.4 Å (Figure 1B). h-BN and g-C3N4, with similar hexagonal structure as graphene, can be regarded as doped graphene by B and N atoms, although the latter possesses lots of defective sites. Interestingly, TMDs also have a hexagonal surface structure as graphene similar to graphene, only that the in-plane anion atoms in each layer are splitted into two identical layers. Generally, there are some changes of physicochemical properties accompanied with the exfoliation process. First, the transformation from multilayer structure of bulk layer materials into few-layered or monolayer structure of nanosheet materials will greatly increase the surface area (≈2630 m2 g−1 for graphene), thermal, and electrical conductivities. Second, the surface modification using various inorganic or organic functional groups will introduce novel adsorption properties which vary with the specific functional groups. The structure of MXenes, clay minerals, LDHs, metal oxides, and other nanosheet materials are much more complicated, for which the surface modifications can be more versatile (Figure 1C). MXenes are a new class of 2D nanostructured materials with general formula Mn+1XnTx (n = 1–3), where M is transition metal (Ti, Ta, Nb, Zr, Hf, V, Cr, Mo, Sc, etc.), X is carbon and/or nitrogen, T is surface terminations anion (O, OH, F). The variation of the valence states of M, X, and T atoms would render the surface charge distributions on MXenes and thereby change the heavy metal adsorption properties. The size and shape of nanoparticles are two important factors to affect the adsorption performance. The novel metal oxide nanomaterials with shape-controlled, highly stable, and monodisperse properties have been widely studied during the last decade.[33] 2D metal (hydr)oxide nanosheets are formed via chemical bonding in three dimensions,[19] for example, TiO2,[34] MoO3,[35] NiO,[36] MgO,[37–39] Fe2O3,[40] AlOOH,[41] FeOOH,[42] and Mg(OH)2.[43] A wide variety of cation-exchangeable layered transition metal oxides and anion-exchangeable layered hydro­ xides, have been exfoliated into individual nanosheets.[44] They are classified as some promising ones for heavy metals removal from aqueous systems, partly because of their increased surface areas and their active sites under size quantization effect.[45] Clay minerals are nature raw material, connected by tetrahedral silicate layers and octahedral hydroxide layers.[46] Depending on the physiochemical properties of the clay minerals, they have received widespread attribution in remediation of wastewater. Normally, nature clay can be classified as 1:1 type (kaolinite) which consist of tetrahedral layer linked with an octahedral layer, and 2:1 type (montmorillonite) which consist of one octahedral layer between two tetrahedral layers. Kaolinite [A12Si2O5(OH)4] is composed of a tetrahedral silica layer and a dioctahedral alumina layer.[47] The continuous sheet structure is bound hydrogen bonding of the hydroxyl face of one flake to the oxygen face of the adjacent flake. The permanent negative charge can be existed on the surface of kaolinite due to the isomorphic replacement in the silica tetrahedral sheet or in the alumina octahedral sheet.[48] In addition, the protonation and deprotonation of hydroxyl groups led to variable charge in the alumina layer and the edge sites. Montmorillonite (MMT) has a Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 layered crystal structure and one of the most abundant natural clay.[49] It is a promising adsorption material due to the large specific surface area, potential for ion exchange, and specific surface properties. LDHs, also known as anionic clays or hydrotalcite-like compounds, are often described by the general formula, [M2+1−xM3+x(OH)2]x+An−x/n.yH2O, where M is metal ion and A represents an interlayer anion.[50,51] The structure of the LDHs is analogous to 2D sheets with edge-sharing octahedra form. The trivalent metal ions can be substituted by divalent metal ions, which introducing a net positive charge to the interlayer gallery balanced by the anions.[52] Similarly, LDHs can also be intercalated by various types of anions.[53] The excellent adsorption capacity for heavy metals is attributed to the special structure and high anionic exchange ability of these materials.[54,55] In order to obtain efficient, selective, and stable adsorbents, the LDHs can be modified by various methods, including intercalation, surface functionalization, exfoliation, engineering nanocomposites.[56–60] Recently, Jeon et al.[61] used a nanocrystal-seeded growth method triggered by a single rotational intergrowth to synthesize high-aspect-ratio zeolite nanosheets with a thickness of 5 nm. These high-aspect-ratio nanosheets allow the fabrication of thin and defect-free coatings that can be intergrown to produce high-flux and ultraselective zeolite ZSM-5 (MFI) membranes that surpass other MFI membranes prepared from exfoliated nanosheets or nanocrystals. 4. 2D Nanosheets Applied for Heavy Metal Purification Various adsorbents such as activated carbon, zeolites, clay minerals, molecular sieves, and other inorganic nanomaterials have been extensively studied for removing heavy metal pollutants from aqueous solutions. However, these adsorbents usually suffer from low removal capacities, slow capture kinetics, difficult separation, secondary environmental pollution, or unsatisfactory recycling ability for their practical applications. Therefore, there is an urgent demand to develop novel adsorbents with higher efficiency and reusability in order to remove rapidly and efficiently toxic heavy metal ions for water remediation applications. 4.1. Graphene Families and Their Composites Pristine graphene is a super-hydrophobic material, which is difficult to disperse in water for the pollutant purification.[62] The graphene and graphene-based composites for the adsorption of heavy metal ions are listed in Table 1, along with some other novel 2D nanosheet materials. The adsorption capacities of pristine few-layered graphene for heavy metal adsorption varied upon exfoliation method, calcination temperature, and layer number of the graphene used.[63,64] For doped graphene, Liu et al.[22] reported highly porous N-doped graphene nanosheets for removal of multiple heavy metal ions (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, etc.) in water with a wide range of concentrations (0.05–200 ppm). The as-synthesized nanosheet exhibited 1801094 (4 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de exchange, while the electrostatic interaction could also contribute to the whole interaction. For the colloidal stability and aggregation of GO during the heavy metal removal process, Adsorbents Solution Sorption capacity Equilibrium SBET [m2 g−1] it is also observed that heavy metal cations −1 time [min] condition [mg g ] Cr(III), Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Ag(I) would [63] 22.42 – Graphene nanosheets ≈400 30 °C, pH = 4 destabilize GO suspension more aggressively 120 842 – Few-layered GO[64] 20 °C, pH = 6 than common cations Ca(II), Mg(II), Na(I), – 400 – 2- or 3-layered graphene[64] 20 °C, pH = 6 and K(I) (Figure 2B).[70] Heavy metal cations [23] can easily cross electric double-layer suppres430 328 15 GO 25 ± 2 °C, pH = 6.8 sion, bind to GO surface, and then change 623 479 15 EDTA-GO[23] 25 ± 2 °C, pH = 6.8 the surface potential, which would lead to the EDTA-RGO[23] 730 204 – 25 ± 2 °C, pH = 6.8 transformation of GO nanosheets to 1D tube– 673 20 GO-MnFe2O4[74] 25 °C, pH = 5 like carbon material, 2D multiple overlapped – 644 30 GO plane, or 3D sphere-like particles during 25 °C, pH = 6 3D graphene/δ-MnO2[84] [185] adsorption. Kinetics study showed that the – 305.28 360 g-C3N4 30 °C, pH = 6.3 destabilizing capability of metal cations in [101] – 137 30 Fe3O4 and g-C3N4 25 °C, pH = 6 line with their adsorption affinity with GO is 2078 225 – Activated BN[94] pH = 6 controlled by their electronegativity and hydra196.5 536.7 720 Nanosheet-structured BN spheres[97] pH = 5.5 tion shell thickness. Sun et al. investigated the interaction mechanism between Eu(III) and – 2 2D layered alk-MXene[13] 30 °C, pH = 6.5 ≈120 GO nanosheets (Figure 2C).[71] The maximum [103] – Room temperature, 288 – Flowerlike WSe2 adsorption capacity of Eu(III) on graphene oxide pH = 4–5 nanosheets was 175.44 mg g−1. The thermodyWS2 microspheres[103] – Room temperature, 386 – namic study suggested that Eu(III) adsorppH = 4–5 tion process on graphene oxide nanosheets MoS2/CeO2[107] – 333 30 25 °C, pH = 2 (GONS) was endothermic and spontaneous, 168.33 479 27 DPA-LDH[186] 25 °C, pH = 6 and extended X-ray absorption fine structure 145.5 Room temperature, 124.22 5 Fower-like γ-AlOOH[41] (EXAFS) results indicated the formation of pH not adjusted inner sphere surface complexes for Eu(III) adsorption with 6–7 O atoms bonded at a disFlowerlike MgO[38] 72 Room temperature, 1980 30 pH = 7 tance of ≈2.44 Å in the first coordination shell. Furthermore, numerous efforts have been Functionalized 2D clay derivative[48] 259 184 5 25 °C, pH = 5.8–6.0 made to further functionalize graphene derivatives. Metal/metal oxides/metal hydroxides (especially magnetic materials, e.g., Fe0,[72] Fe3O4,[12,73] and a high removal efficiency (90–100%), fast removal (30 min), high capacity (>500 mg g−1), and good recycling performance MnFe2O4[74]) and organic functional groups (sulfonic acid, poly2+ 2+ (10 cycles, 99% retention) to remove Pb and Cd ions. acrylic acid poly-dopamine, and carboxylic acid)[12,22,75–81] have To improve the solubility of graphene, the graphene derivabeen attached to the carbon backbone of GO/RGO nanosheets tives, e.g., GO and RGO, have been developed and synthesized, by various methods.[62] Magnetically modified GO nanosheets, which can form the homogeneous aqueous suspension. GO, formed by the deposition of magnetite (Fe3O4) on GO, were the oxidized form of graphene, which is usually prepared by the used for the efficient regenerative removal of heavy metals Hummers method,[65] has a large surface area with various reacfrom aqueous solutions. The main strategies using such materials as adsorbents for the removal of metal ions from aqueous tive oxygen functional groups (e.g., epoxy, hydroxyl, carbonyl, and solutions are schemed in Figure 3A.[82] Recently, Zhao et al.[83] carboxyl groups). GO holds great promise in adsorption-based remediation approaches because of its extremely high surface reported a generalized and facile strategy to synthesize largearea and abundant oxygen-containing functional groups.[66,67] size 2D metal oxide nanosheets with controllable thickness and unique surface chemical state on GO (Figure 3B). The thickness The high dispersion stability of graphene oxide makes it an (less than 5 nm) of metal oxide (MO) nanosheets synthesized excellent adsorbent for heavy metal removal (Figure 2A).[64] The by this method can be controlled by the concentration of metal maximum adsorption capacity of Pb(II) ions on few-layered grasalts, which can have great impact on the improvement of the phene oxide (FGO) was calculated as high as 842 mg g−1 at 293 K adsorption abilities of various MO nanosheets. from the Langmuir model, which is much higher than pristine Kumar et al. reported that MnFe2O4 loaded single-layer gragraphene. Besides, the hydrazine reduced GO could stably disperse in ammonia solution through electrostatic stabilization, phene oxide nanosheet (Figure 3C) had exceptional adsorpdue to the residual oxygen content and carboxylic groups.[68] tion performance for efficient removal of Pb(II), As(III), and As(V), due to the combination of the layered nature (large The presence of these hydrophilic functional groups not only surface area) of the nanosheet, the easy magnetic separaincreased the dispersion of GO in water but also made GO a tion of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (Figure 3D), and the excellent superior adsorbent for various heavy metal ions.[69] The main strength of adsorption was the chemical adsorption under ion adsorption abilities of both the MnFe2O4 nanoparticles and GO Table 1. Summary of previous studies on the adsorption of Pb(II) ions by various 2D nanosheet materials. The surface area, solution condition, maximum sorption capacity, and equilibrium time are listed. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 1801094 (5 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 2. A) The dispersion status of graphite and FGO in solutions after 5 months aging. The adsorption isotherms of Pb(II) on FGO and graphene at T = 293, 313, and 333 K. Reproduced with permission.[64] Copyright 2011, Royal Society of Chemistry. B) Bulk flocculation of GO in aqueous solution, isotherms of Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) on GO, and the interactions of heavy metal cations with GO nanosheets. Reproduced with permission.[70] Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society. C) The interaction mechanism between Eu(III) and graphene oxide nanosheets, and EXAFS results for the samples. C) Reproduced with permission.[71] Copyright 2012, American Chemical Society. nanosheet (Figure 3E).[74] Thermodynamic results indicated a spontaneous and endothermic process in which the adsorption kinetics increased with the temperature. The highly reactive and corrosive nanoscale zero-valent iron particles were supported on reduced graphene oxides (NZVI/RGOs) using a plasma reduction method to improve the reactivity (50 min), stability, and capacity (425.72 mg g−1) of NZVI toward Cd(II) adsorption.[72] The NZVI/RGOs maintained high removal performance after four cycles of regeneration using plasma reduction technique. Fe3O4 nanoparticles were also supported on RGO nanosheets using a facile hydrothermal self-assembly method to enhance the removal of various heavy metal ions.[73] The dispersed Fe3O4 nanoparticles in RGO/Fe3O4 composite with plenty of active adsorption sites were effectively protected against oxidation in wastewater, which also added a superparamagnetic property to the RGO nanosheets for fast magnetic recycling. Similar phenomena were also found for MnO2. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 Birnessite MnO2 nanosheets were homogenously deposited on the GO surface via an in situ solution-phase deposition method.[84] While δ-MnO2 loaded graphene nanosheet exhibited maximum adsorption capacity for Pb(II) ions of 781 mmol g−1,[85] graphene/δ-MnO2 showed adsorption capacity as large as 643.62 mg g−1 for Pb(II), much larger than the corresponding pristine 3D graphene and δ-MnO2 nanosheets.[84] The nanocomposite exhibited fast kinetics, large capacity, and excellent reusability toward heavy metal purification. Madadrang et al. successfully grafted the EDTA, a wellknown functional group which can form stable chelated with metal ions, onto GO nanosheet (Figure 4A).[23] The nanocomposite exhibited higher adsorption capacity (479 mg g−1) than pure GO (328 mg g−1), activated carbons and CNTs for Pb(II) adsorption, as well as higher removal efficiency (equilibrium time 20 min, equilibrium concentration 0.5–5 ppb). This phenomena can be explained by the higher ion exchange ability 1801094 (6 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 3. A) Main strategies to apply graphene-based materials as adsorbents for heavy metal purification. Reproduced with permission.[82] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry. B) The strategy to synthesize large-size ultrathin 2D MO nanosheets on GO. Reproduced with permission.[83] Copyright 2017, Royal Society of Chemistry. C) Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of GO and GO−MnFe2O4 hybrid (GONH). D) Hysteresis curves and E) adsorption capacities of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NP) and GONH for Pb(II), As(V), and As(III) ions. D,E) Reproduced with permission.[74] Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society. of EDTA compared to that of OH and the higher stability constant of Pb(II)–EDTA complex on EDTA-grafted GO compared to that of Pb(II)–OH complex on GO. 2-imino-4-thiobiuret-partially reduced graphene oxide (IT-PRGO) by chemical modification of GO showed exceptional selectivity for Hg(II) with a capacity of 624 mg g−1 (Figure 4B),[86] along with the capacities of 101.5, 63.0, and 37.0 mg g−1 for Pb(II), Cr(VI), and Cu(II), respectively. Desorption studies demonstrated the easy regeneration of IT-PRGO, while the sorption kinetics suggested a chemisorption between amidinothiourea groups and metal ions. The adsorption capacities for Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Hg(II) were found 87, 106, 197, and 110 mg g−1, respectively. Furthermore, GO nanosheets modified with thiol groups by diazonium chemistry were reported to adsorb sixfold higher concentration of Hg(II) than GO nanosheets due to the strong adsorption properties of functional groups (Figure 4C).[87] PEI-PD/GO composite nanosheets, which were produced by the grafting of polyethylenimine (PEI) brushes onto polydopamine (PD) coated GO (Figure 4D), exhibited an improved performance for adsorption of heavy metal ions as compared to PEI-coated GO and pure GO.[88] Besides, the covalent functionalization involves the reaction of functional molecules with the oxygenated groups on GO/RGO surface and noncovalent functionalization involves the introduction of van der Waals force or Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 the π–π interaction between RGO and stabilizers (e.g., singlestrand DNA (ssDNA)[89] or 1-pyrenebyturate (PB−)[90]), which will change their solubility and electronic properties. 4.2. h-BN and g-C3N4 Nanosheets h-BN and g-C3N4 were widely studied for the removal of organic pollutants and heavy metal ions from water due to their polarity, versatility, and high surface area similar to graphene.[91,92] Recently, Chengchun and co-workers have prepared porous BN whiskers,[93] activated BN whiskers,[94] 2D activated BN sheets,[95] and 3D carbon-BN[96] for heavy metal purification. The 2D fluorinated activated BN nanosheets, with low equilibrium Cr(III) concentration (0.052 mg L−1) and high uptake capacity (up to 387 mg g−1), were promising candidate for heavy metal purification, which can be attri­ buted to the various surface defects and oxygen-containing functional groups on the BN sheets as revealed by theoretical calculations (Figure 5A). Liu at el.[97] also prepared nanosheetstructured BN spheres by a simple catalyzing thermal evaporation approach. The adsorption capacities of the BN nanosheet for Cu(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) are up to 678.7, 536.7, and 107.0 mg g−1, respectively. Novel O-doped BN 1801094 (7 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 4. A) The structure of EDTA-grafted GO. The maximum Pb2+ adsorption capacity and pH dependent capacity. Reproduced with permission.[23] Copyright 2012, American Chemical Society. B) Efficient removal of heavy metals from water with high selectivity for Hg(II) by 2-imino-4-thiobiuret−partially reduced graphene oxide (IT-PRGO). Reproduced with permission.[86] Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. C) Thiol-functionalized graphite oxide (GO-SH) for Hg(II) purification: schematic of functionalization chemistry on GO, and corresponding nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. Reproduced with permission.[87] Copyright 2011, American Chemical Society. D) Polydopamine-mediated surface-functionalization of graphene oxide (PEI-PD/GO). Reproduced with permission.[88] Copyright 2015, Elsevier. (BNO) nanosheets with more active sites and increased conductivity were prepared via the direct reaction of CuB23 with NOCl at room temperature in ionic liquids (Figure 5B).[98] The obtained BNO demonstrated excellent performance as a capacitive deionization electrode to remove Cd(II) in a wide range of concentrations (0.05–600 ppm) with a high adsorption capacity (2281 mg g−1). The unique structure and the NO− groups promoted the electrosorption of Cd(II), and simultaneously removed the heavy metal ions (Cd(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II)) within 20 min. Graphitic-C3N4 (g-C3N4) nanosheets prepared by a simple thermal and ultrasonic method showed high adsorption capacities of 137.4 mg g−1 for Co(II), 136.9 mg g−1 for Ni(II), 134.1 mg g−1 for Cu(II), and 138.0 mg g−1 for Zn(II), respectively (Figure 5C).[99] The adsorption mechanism was confirmed mainly dominated by inner sphere complexation, which was an endothermic and spontaneous process. The g-C3N4 nanosheet also exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 94.4 mg g−1 toward Cd(II) in aqueous solution.[100] Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 The adsorption occurred under the coordination of the unoccupied 5s orbital of Cd(II) with the lone-pair electron of the triazine ring units of g-C3N4. Similar with the case of graphenes, the magnetic nanoparticles were loaded on g-C3N4 nanosheet to solve the problem of separation and recovery in industrial applications. The adsorption capacity of Fe3O4/g-C3N4 nanocomposite maintained 88.9% after five cycles of regeneration by EDTA, suggesting a potential adsorbent for Zn(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) ions.[101] The loading of α-Fe2O3 on g-C3N4 nanosheet by a facile hydrothermal method resulted in a stable α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 nanocomposite with higher visible-light photocatalytic activity than pure g-C3N4 and α-Fe2O3 for Cr(VI) reduction.[102] The enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the wellmatched band structure and interfacial bonding between g-C3N4 and α-Fe2O3 (Figure 5D), which increased the charge transfer and separation of the photogenerated carriers, as confirmed by the lower photoluminescence intensity and higher photocurrent density. 1801094 (8 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 5. A) Cr(III) adsorption by fluorinated activated boron nitride nanosheets. Reproduced with permission.[95] Copyright 2014, Royal Society of Chemistry. B) O-doped BN nanosheets for efficient removal of heavy metal ions. Reproduced with permission.[98] Copyright 2017, Royal Society of Chemistry. C) g-C3N4 nanosheets for the highly efficient scavenging of heavy metals. Reproduced with permission.[99] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. D) α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composite for efficient photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light. Reproduced with permission.[102] Copyright 2015, Elsevier. 4.3. TMD Nanosheets Due to the strong affinity of the chalcogen to heavy metal ions and the capability of the semiconducting metal dichalcogenides to harvest light in the visible and short-wavelength near-infrared regions, TMDs have been used in the adsorption of heavy metals or photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI).[103,104] Flowerlike WSe2 and WS2 microspheres, prepared by a facile and scalable one-pot solvothermal method, exhibited remarkable uptake capacities for Pb2+ (288 mg g−1 for WSe2 and 386 mg g−1 for WS2) and Hg2+ (1512 mg g−1 for WSe2 and 1954 mg g−1 for WS2), due to the abundant chalcogen ligands with innate reactivity toward soft heavy metal ions Hg(II) and Pb(II).[103] Ai at el.[105] prepared a novel MoS2 nanosheets with widened interlayer spacing (W-DR-N-MoS2), which showed an extremely high Hg(II) adsorption capacity close to the theoretically capacity (2506 mg g−1) and an ultrahigh distribution coefficient value (3.53 × 108 mL g−1). Remarkably, this modified MoS2 could efficiently reduce the Hg(II) concentration of industrial wastewater (126 ppb) to an extremely low value (0.055 ppb) under the presence of plenty of competitive cations (Figure 6). The difference in Pb (Pb2+ and Pb4+) adsorption using the bulk and nanosheet forms of MoS2 was investigated at room temperature.[106] While the bulk MoS2 did not show any reactivity, the 2D nanosheet MoS2 showed quite rapid kinetics that resulted in the formation of identical products PbMoO4 with different morphologies within a few seconds. Furthermore, the unusual reactivity of MoS2 nanosheets was retained in its supported form, which can lead to the effective and fast adsorption of toxic lead from water. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 Ultrathin molybdenum disulfide nanosheets loaded with cerium oxide nanoparticles (MoS2/CeO2), synthesized using a two-step hydrothermal reaction, exhibited a high removal capacity (333 mg g−1 at pH 2.0), excellent selectivity, and reusability for Pb(II) purification.[107] The new composite material combined the unique adsorption ability of MoS2 nanosheets and CeO2 nanoparticles to synergistically enhance the uptake capacity and selectivity toward Pb(II). Zhang at el. synthesized the SnS2/SnO2 nanoheterojunctions by a simple and costeffective one-step hydrothermal method. Compared to SnS2 nanosheets,[108,109] SnS2/SnO2 with 70 mol% SnS2 displayed the highest photocatalytic activity for the reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under visible-light irradiation. The improved photocatalytic efficiency of SnS2/SnO2 nanoheterojunctions can be largely ascribed to the enhanced separation of photogenerated electrons and holes through interfacial charge transfer. 4.4. Transition Metal Carbide/Carbonitride/Nitride (MXene) Nanosheets Ti3C2Tx (T = OH or F), a reactive member of MXene family, was proved to be good heavy metal adsorbent due to the unique layer structure with large surface area and abundant Ti-OH groups with high sorption affinity toward heavy metals (denoted as [TiO]H+).[110] The sorption selectivity was attributed to the strong metal–ligand interaction with heavy metal ions. Recently, a 2D layered alk-MXene (Ti3C2(OH/ONa)xF2−x) material prepared by chemical exfoliation is followed by alkalization intercalation of MXene (Ti3C2Tx), which exhibits excellent sorption behavior for Pb(II) ions when competing cations Ca(II) 1801094 (9 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 6. A) Structural characterization of MoS2: a–d) W-DR-N-MoS2, e–h) commercial MoS2 powder, i–l) DF-N-MoS2, m–p) DR-N-MoS2. B) Hg(II) adsorption isotherm and C) distribution coefficient value of W-DR-N-MoS2, compared with commercial MoS2 powder, DF-N-MoS2, and DR-N-MoS2. D) Hg(II) sorption kinetics W-DR-N-MoS2, inset is the purification of natural water samples through a purification column filled with W-DR-N-MoS2. Reproduced with permission.[105] and Mg(II) coexisted at high levels (Figure 7A).[13] However, it seems that the 2D layered structure of above MXene or alkMXene materials could not effectively avoid the pore blockage after Pb(II) adsorption, which might require a full exfoliation. 2D MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets were also investigated for Cu removal in aqueous media (Figure 7B).[111] Delaminated Ti3C2Tx exhibited excellent Cu removal ability, and oxygenated surface functional groups of MXene facilitated the reductive adsorption of Cu(II). Compared to multilayer Ti3C2Tx, delaminated Ti3C2Tx exhibited a higher and faster Cu uptake. 2D MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets, obtained by a similar method, also exhibited excellent removal capacity (250 mg g−1) for Cr(VI) (Figure 7C,D).[112] X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study indicated that Cr(VI) ions were reduced under the strong interaction between Cr and TiO when Cr(VI) adsorbed on Ti3C2Tx surfaces (Figure 7E–G). A later work on Ti3C2Tx nanosheets, in which Ti3AlC2 powder was etched by hydrogen fluoride (HF) solution, showed a very high selectivity toward barium removal in multimetal solution, and the optimum removal pH was found around 6–7.[113] A modified MXenes, with urchin-like rutile TiO2C structure was prepared by in situ solvothermal alcoholysis of MXene (Ti3C2(OH)0.8F1.2) under FeCl3 conditions.[114] The higher Cr(VI) adsorption capacity (≈225 mg g−1) than raw MXene was attributed to the inhibition of H2O adsorption by bridging oxogroups based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. 4.5. Clay Nanosheets Clays and modified clays have been excellent adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from water solution due to the Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 existence of active sites on the surface. The use of various clay minerals as adsorbent has some advantages over other commercially available adsorbents, such as low-cost, abundant, nontoxic, and excellent adsorption properties.[26] Sodic-montmorillonite (122 mg g−1) and turkish illitic clay (239 mg g−1) were reported the best adsorbents for Pb(II) adsorption among several clay minerals. Furthermore, these layered silicates can be intercalated, swelled, and delaminated into silicate nanosheets with much larger surface area and adsorption sites, depending on the swelling agent, pH, and temperature of the solution.[3] Kaolinite was modified with phosphate and sulphate anions for adsorption of metal ions (Pb2+, Cd2+, Zn2+, and Cu2+).[115] The phosphate-modified kaolinite displayed stronger affinity for Pb2+ with adsorption capacity of 93.28%. Moreover, Srivastava et al. reported adsorption of four metal ions (Cd2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+) onto kaolinite.[28] The different sequence can be found between the single-element systems (Cu < Zn < Pb < Cd) and in the multielement system (Pb < Cu < Zn < Cd). Adsorption onto permanent charge sites can be occurred at higher pH by generating inner sphere complexes with alumina layers and crystal edges by forming bidentate complexes. In order to boost the adsorption capacities of kaolinite, the different modification methods were reported.[116–118] Nanoscale zero-valent iron modified kaolinite was applied to remove heavy metal ion (Pb2+) from aqueous solution, in which 90.1% adsorption efficient was achieved within 60 min using 5 g L−1 sample, and other coexistent ions (Ni2+, Cd2+) had little effect on the adsorption process for removal of Pb2+ ions.[119] Various techniques were used to characterize nanoscale zero-valent iron modified kaolinite, in which Pb2+ was adsorbed by kaolinite and reduced by iron components.[120] Besides, the organic or inorganic 1801094 (10 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 7. A) Lead adsorption behavior of activated hydroxyl groups in 2D layered alk-MXene. Reproduced with permission.[13] Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society. B) 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets for efficient copper removal from water. Reproduced with permission.[111] Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. C,D) 2D Ti3C2Tx nanosheets for efficiently reductive removal of Cr(VI), E) Cr 2p XPS spectrum of the Cr-loading Ti3C2Tx-10% nanosheets, F) chemical shift of binding energy of Ti 2p before and after immersing in Cr(VI) solution for 72 h, and G) schematic illustration of the removal mechanism. C–G) Reproduced with permission.[112] Copyright 2015, American Chemical Society. modified kaolinite were also reported to enhance the adsorption capacities, though the enhancement of adsorption selectivity, capacities, and regeneration ability still needs further effort.[121–123] In recent years, the montmorillonite-base materials have been widely studied in the adsorption of heavy metals.[26,124–126] The substitution of lower-valency cations within the interlayer will generate negative charge in MMT, which can increase the adsorption of interlayer cations under charge compensation effect.[127] Previous research has shown that the low molar mass organic acid is one of the important factors to affect the adsorption of Cd2+ and Pb2+ by montmorillonite.[128] The sodium montmorillonite was intercalated by dodecylamine as a potential adsorbent for Cr(VI) ions, due to the electrostatic interaction of HCrO4− with the protonated amine (Figure 8A).[129] The adsorption behavior of montmorillonite was modified by a facile solidstate NaOH treatment,[130] in which the Na-MMT exhibited excellent sorption capacities of 184.8 and 290.7 mg g−1 for Sr2+ and Cs2+, respectively. The enhancement of adsorption capacity was contributed to a large Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) surface area and abundant functional groups (SiONa). The adsorption behavior of raw montmorillonite for heavy metals was connected to its surface properties. The mechanism of adsorption is related to the permanent charges on MMT Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 surface and edge, which has strong interactions with metal ions.[131] The kinetics and isotherms of vanadium (V) adsorption on MMT confirmed as the pseudo second-order and Langmuir model.[132] In addition, the pH and ionic-strength have an obvious effect on the adsorption capacity resulted from the surface complexation and electrostatic interaction, respectively. Benefiting from the cation-exchange capacity of montmorillonite, the different MMT with interlayer cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, and Fe3+) were prepared by the immersion method. The maximal Pb2+ adsorption capacity (48 mmol per 100 g) was achieved by Ca-MMT, due to the lower binding energy between interlayer cations and MMT layers.[133] Moreover, Na-MMT provided much higher adsorption potential for heavy metals (Pb(II), Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Zn(II)) than Ca-MMT, which mainly depended on the ion exchange (Figure 8B).[49] Montmorillonite based nanocomposites bonded with other organic/inorganic components have received extensive attention for heavy metal removal.[26,134–137] Organo (2-(3-(2-aminoethylthio)propylthio)ethanamine (AEPE), hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA), and hexamethlenediamine (DA)) and inorgano–organo modified clays were developed for remediation of various heavy metal ions contaminated water.[32] Adraa et al. reported that the cysteine as chelating agents integrated with montmorillonite and used for the chelation of different 1801094 (11 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 8. A) Illustration of the interaction of Cr(VI) complex and protonated amine in MMT. Reproduced with permission.[129] Copyright 2012, Elsevier. B) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of Na–Mt and Ca–Mt. Reproduced with permission.[49] Copyright 2015, Elsevier. C) Schematic illustration for the modification process of MMT with hydroxyiron (III) species. Reproduced with permission.[139] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. D) Adsorption of phenol and Cu(II) onto cationic and zwitterionic surfactant modified montmorillonite. Reproduced with permission.[143] Copyright 2016, Elsevier. heavy metal ions (Cd2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, Co2+, and Zn2+).[138] A strong interaction between the cysteine and heavy metal cations was achieved, which indicated the chelation effect of amino group, as confirmed by theoretical calculations. Most recently, the hydroxyiron-modified montmorillonite nanoclay was prepared by a simple wet chemical synthesis method, which showed an extraordinary adsorption removal process for heavy metal As (III) within the first 30 s of the adsorption (Figure 8C). The fast adsorption kinetics was attributed to the combined effect of both outer sphere (physisorption) and inner sphere complexes (chemisorption).[139] In addition, the reduced graphene oxide and montmorillonite composite (RGO–MMT) exhibited 94.87% removal efficiencies for Cr(VI).[140] The surfactant modification of clay minerals is another important strategy to enhance the interaction between the adsorbents and heavy metals.[141] The montmorillonite was modified by anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) that showed a higher adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions, in which SDS was intercalated into MMT and clay nanosheets with a more negative Zeta potential expanded in c-axis.[142] Xi and co-workers found that the intercalation of MMT using cationic surfactant (C16) and zwitterionic surfactant (Z16) also increased the adsorption capacity toward heavy metal ions (Figure 8D), and the adsorption equilibrium and kinetic data were better fitted with Langmuir isotherm and pseudosecond-order model, respectively.[143] Moreover, chitosan and surfactant (HDTMA) comodified montmorillonite prepared in liquid phase system were used as multifunctional adsorbents for purifying wastewater containing heavy metals.[144] Based on structural characteristics, the chitosan and HDTMA were intercalated into the interlayers of MMT and the arrangement of HDTMA on MMT can be affected by chitosan. The specific functional groups (OH, NH2) contributed to the adsorption of heavy metal (Cd2+) from aqueous solutions. Liao and coworkers found that the intercalation of well dispersed NZVI in the interlayer of MMT could significantly increase the removal of Cr(VI), and make NZVI/MMT more stable than NZVI and remain higher reactivity even after exposed in air for 140 h.[145] Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 4.6. LDHs Nanosheets The layered double hydroxides are an ideal inorganic matrix, which can be applied to the synthesis of various hybrid materials.[146] The LDHs have excellent intercalation and ionexchange capability, which has played an important role in adsorption.[50] Thus, incorporating organic and inorganic components by grafting method was expected to enhance the adsorption properties. Moreover, the structure and chemical properties of LDHs can be modulated by intercalated foreign molecule.[147] Some works were performed on chloridion intercalated Mg/Al LDHs (Cl/LDHs) for the removal of As(V) from contaminated ground-water.[148] The maximum adsorption capacities of As(V) on Cl/LDHs were 88.3 mg g−1, and more than 98% of As was removed from natural groundwater. The MoS42− intercalated Mg/Al layered double hydroxide (MoS4LDH) has highly efficient removal of heavy metal ions of Hg2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+,[149] which have very high removal rates (>93%) of As from complex solutions within 1 min (Figure 9A).[150] Adsorption kinetics follows a pseudo-second-order model, which is consistent with chemisorption through AsS bonding. It is reported that the assembling of nitrogen and sulfur codecorated carbon dots with abundant oxygen-containing functional groups on LDH resulted in the high selectivity and adsorption capacity for Hg2+ and Ag+ (Figure 9B).[151] By contrast, thiofunctionalized layered double hydroxide also exhibited enormous saturated uptake capacities (594, 564, and 357 mg g−1) for Hg2+, Ag+, and Pb2+.[152] Polyaniline (PANI), which has plenty of amine and imine functional groups,[153] were used to prepare PANI/LDHs nanocomposite with adsorption capacity of 393.701 mg g−1 for Cr(VI)).[154] Further thermodynamic study from adsorption isotherms indicated a spontaneous and endothermic process. In addition, fulvic acid modified layered double hydroxides showed excellent adsorption capacities for Cu2+, Pb2+, Ni2+, and Cd2+ with an adsorption order of Cu2+ > Pb2+ > Ni2+ > Cd2+.[155] Recently, Gong et al. reported efficient adsorption of heavy metal from wastewater with a self-assembly method.[156] The 1801094 (12 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 9. A) SEM images of the samples after MoS4-LDH adsorbed of (a, a′) 10 ppm As(III), (b, b′) 300 ppm As(III), and the dominant phases and possible binding modes of MoS42− with HAsO42− in the LDH Gallery. Reproduced with permission.[150] Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. B) Schematic view of Hg2+ adsorption on N,S-CDs-LDH. Reproduced with permission.[151] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. adsorbent was synthesized by introducing LDHs onto the surface of carbon nanospheres (LDH-NCs@CNs). The as-prepared LDH-NCs@CNs exhibited a high efficiency for the Cu2+ (19.93 mg g−1) with the suitable initial concentration (10 mg L−1), which was higher than LDHs or carbon nanospheres (CNs) alone. The possible removal mechanism was mainly attributed to mass transfer, isomorphic substitution, and physical/ chemical adsorption processes. Additionally, the hydroxyapatite on magnetic CaAl-layered double hydroxides adsorbent also showed efficient removal of uranium ions from aqueous solution.[157] The adsorption/desorption cycle in practice studies maintains sufficient stable and the adsorption capacity decreased from 88.6% to 78.8% after four cycles. GO with multiple oxygenic function groups can form nanocomposites with other 2D sheet-like structures, which have received great attention for the effective removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous wastewater.[158] The LDHs/GO nanocomposites were later prepared by a remarkably simple and efficient method.[159] The adsorption performance of the LDHs/ GO nanocomposites containing 6.0% GO showed a increased adsorption capacity of 183.11 mg g−1 due to the higher surface area and ion exchange ability. Nanocomposites comprised of 3D Mg-Al LDH/partially reduced GO were tested for the removal of Pb2+, which exhibited a higher adsorption capacity due to the unique porous network and functional groups.[160] Very recently, Huang et al. reported a simple one-pot solvothermal synthesis of magnetic Fe3O4/GO/MgAl-LDH nanocomposite which could be easily separated by extra magnetic field. The ternary composites can efficiently and rapidly adsorb heavy ions (Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+).[161] MoS2 coated Mg/Al LDH (LDHs@MoS2) with excellent chemical stability were applied for the adsorption of Cr (VI) due to the electrostatic attraction and outer sphere surface complexation.[162] The LDHs-based Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 material is a promising candidate for fast and selective remediation of water polluted with heavy metal ions in environmental pollution cleanup. 4.7. 2D Metal (Hydr)oxide Nanosheets The purification of heavy metals in aqueous solutions by nanosized metal oxides was previously reviewed, among which the most widely used nanosized metal oxides include iron oxides, manganese oxides, aluminum oxides, and titanium oxides.[45] Flowerlike MgO nanosheet with high surface area was reported to show superb adsorption capacities of 1980 and 1500 mg g−1 for Pb(II) and Cd(II), respectively, which were significantly higher than other nanomaterials due to the solid–liquid interfacial cation exchange.[38] However, the blocking of the newly formed PbO on MgO nanosheet for further reaction was also observed. A layered protonic titanate of lepidocrocite-type, HxTi2−x/4□x/4O4•H2O(x ≈ 0.7; □: vacancy), can be exfoliated and stabled in aqueous solution of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide.[163] The TiO6 octahedra are combined via edge sharing to produce a 2D sheet of composition HxTi2−x/4□x/4O4−, in which the Ti site vacancies are compensated by interlayer hydronium ions. The loading of Cr2O3 on titanate nanosheets by one-step hydrothermal method enhanced the photocatalytic activity for K2Cr2O7 reduction under visible-light, due to the charge recombination and electron transfer from Cr2O3 to tatanate nanosheets.[164] Zhu and co-workers studied the coadsorption of Cd(II) with sulfate/phosphate on ferrihydrite and found that in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and 2D correlation spectroscopic analysis can be an efficient tool to analyze the coadsorption mechanisms of heavy metal cations and anions on iron (oxyhydr)oxides.[165] 1801094 (13 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 10. A) Top view of the atomic structure for TAPB-BMTTPA-COF (yellow, S; blue, N; gray, C; white, hydrogen). B) Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) (inset) images of TAPB-BMTTPA-COF. C) 13C crosspolarization magic-angle spinning (CP/MAS) NMR spectra of TAPB-BMTTPA-COF (black curve) and Hg(II)-adsorbed TAPB-BMTTPA-COF (blue curve). D) Cycle performance for Hg(II) removal and E) capture efficiency in removing metal ions of TAPB-BMTTPA-COF. Reproduced with permission.[171] Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. 4.8. MOF/COF Nanosheets Recently, highly porous MOF based materials, with abundant functional groups, have been reviewed for heavy metal purification.[1] The interaction mechanisms between heavy metal ions and MOF-based materials were systematically studied. As an extensive class of crystalline materials with ultrahigh porosity (up to 90% free volume) and internal surface areas (ranging from 1000 to 10 000 m2 g−1), MOFs and MOF-based materials showed attractive characteristics, such as fast adsorption kinetics, high adsorption capacity, and excellent selectivity, which can be further increased by introducing functional groups. The photocatalytic performance of MOFs can be modulated via incorporation of organic or inorganic nanoparticles while their high surface area can ensure the fast transport and good accommodation of targeted ions, as reported in Cr(VI) reduction in MOFs.[29] In the test of a series of zirconium-based MOFs for selenate and selenite anions purification, NU-1000 showed the highest adsorption capacity and fastest uptake rates.[166] Using the Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacities for selenite and selenate are 95 and 85 mg g−1, respectively. At ion concentrations of 1–3 selenite or selenate anions per Zr6 node, maximum adsorption within 1 min is achieved under fast anion exchange with the surface ligands. The Ni-based MOF [Ni(3-bpd)2(NCS)2]n was found to selectively adsorb Hg(II) in aqueous medium via the soft center of S atom.[109] By contrast, due to the intrinsic structure of MOFs, to date, 2D MOF nanosheets are rarely used for the heavy metal purification.[167–169] There are two strategies, i.e., top-down and bottom-up methods, to prepare 2D MOF nanosheets.[170] The former one involves the delamination of bulk MOFs under sonication in various solutions, while the latter one involves directly synthesized 2D MOF nanosheets in high yield. However, the exfoliated 2D MOF nanosheets prepared by top-down method are rather unstable to their restacking. Recently, the 2D MOFs (FIR-53 and Ag-3) with large nanotubular channels were used for Cr2O72− purification, in which the Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 FIR-53 showed excellent regeneration ability, fast adsorption kinetics (10 min), and high selectivity for Cr2O72− over Cl−, Br−, and NO3− ions, through the weak CH⋅⋅⋅O bond with FIR-53. Unfortunately, the selectivity significantly reduced under the influence of other coexisting ions. Owing to the structural diversity of skeletons and pore walls, COFs offer a platform for designing high-performance materials for heavy metal removal from water. Huang at el.[171] designed a novel TAPB-BMTTPA-COF for Hg(II) removal (Figure 10A,B). The framework contains larger mesoporous channels than most MOFs and the dense methyl sulfide functional termini (Figure 10C) on the pore walls are active sites to adsorb Hg(II). This porous material was stable under strong acid and base condition, and achieved a benchmark for the capacity, efficiency, reusability (Figure 10D), and selectivity (Figure 10E). These results suggested the great potential of COFs for heavy metal purification. More and more water stable MOFs and COFs are developed by the introduction of high-valence metal ions, metal azolate frameworks, or special functional groups.[172] A porous Zn(II)based MOF decorated with O− groups was reported to exhibit ultrahigh Pb2+ capacity (616.64 mg g−1), fast adsorption (10 min), high selectivity against competitive ions, such as Ca2+ or Mg2+ (>99.27%).[173] However, there still remain some issues: 1) The long-term stability and regeneration in practical applications is still troubled by the structural degradation under water, redox conditions, acids/bases, and solution conditions such as pH, ionic strength, organics, and ion types, and concentrations. 2) The slow adsorption kinetics and the blocking of internal pores due to the microporous nature of MOFs. 3) The expensive ligands used for the synthesis of most MOFs and COFs. 4.9. 2D Composite Nanosheets Since most of exfoliated nanosheets possess distinct surface charge, they can be assembled to form novel nanohybrids and nanocomposites under the electrostatic forces.[17] Some of the 1801094 (14 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 11. A) Illustration of the formation of the Mg(OH)2/GO composite, typical SEM image of Mg(OH)2/GO nanoflower, and the capacity and removal efficiency of heavy metal ion adsorption by Mg(OH)2/GO from synthetic wastewater. Reproduced with permission.[174] Copyright 2016, Royal Society of Chemistry. B) The photocatalytic kinetic parameter of Cr(VI) with different catalysts and the diagram of photocatalytic reduction mechanism of Cr(VI). Reproduced with permission.[175] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. C) SEM image of GO/g-C3N4/MoS2 nanocomposites (GCM-7), photocatalytic reduction curves of the Cr(VI) using different samples under visible-light illumination, and the schematic drawing of the photocatalytic process and charge transfer mechanisms in the GO/g-C3N4/MoS2 composites. Reproduced with permission.[176] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. D) The proposed photocatalytic mechanism of C-CN-GR ternary nanocomposite. Reproduced with permission.[177] Copyright 2017, Elsevier. E) The TEM image, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) maps, and interface structure of TP-SiNSs nanosheet for Pb adsorption. Reproduced with permission.[48] new nanosheet composites using GO as functional support materials were already mentioned in above sections, hence here we do not intend to elaborate on them. A layered Mg(OH)2/ GO nanosheet composite was in situ synthesized by laser ablation method for the removal of heavy metal ions from water (Figure 11A).[174] The GO nanosheet served as a heterogeneous nucleation and growth site for sheet-like Mg(OH)2 nanocrystals, which were crystallized under the strong reaction between laser-ablated Mg species and water molecules. The resulting porous Mg(OH)2/GO nanosheet composite exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of over 300 mg g−1 for heavy metal ions Zn(II) and Pb(II). g-C3N4/SnS2/SnO2 nanocomposites, synthesized by solvothermal method, were designed for the photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under visible light.[175] The reaction rate constant of Cr(VI) reduction on g-C3N4/SnS2/SnO2 nanocomposite with the mass ratio of 1:3 can be improved 41.7 and 4.0 times than pure g-C3N4 and SnS2/SnO2, respectively (Figure 11B). The diffusion of oxygen atoms from SnO2 to g-C3N4 during the synthesis process made a good combination between SnS2/SnO2 and g-C3N4 nanosheet via SnOC bond, and enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency of g-C3N4/ SnS2/SnO2. In addition, the formation of oxygen vacancies on g-C3N4/SnS2/SnO2 surface by ultrasonic assisted solvothermal reaction could also lift the valence band edge. Ternary-layered Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 GO/g-C3N4/MoS2 nanosheets with flower-like morphology were prepared for photocatalytic reactions for environmental purification (Figure 11C).[176] The nanocomposite showed good reproducibility and stability for the visible light photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). While GO acted as a fast transport hole due to its high conductivity in the ternary nanosheet structure, the collection of electrons in MoS2 and holes in g-C3N4 was effectively improved, along with the reduced recombination of photogenerated electron carriers. A similar ternarylayered graphene/g-C3N4/carbon dots (C-CN-GR) nanocomposites were prepared via a facile hydrothermal method, in which the loading of a small amount of graphene and carbon dots improved the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 for Cr(VI) reduction.[177] The nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic activity could remove over 83.6% of Cr(VI) within 120 min. And the mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction is shown below (Figure 11D). Cr(VI) as an electron acceptor would promote the transfer of photogenerated electrons from conduction band (CB) of g-C3N4. Recently, the grafting of highly dispersed titanium hydroxyl groups on acid leached clay mineral derivatives was proved to be an efficient route to stabilize functionalgroups and enhance their activities for heavy metal adsorption (Figure 11E).[48] The as-synthesized 2D hierarchical 2D nanosheet shows balanced hydrophobicity–hydrophilicity, large maximum capacity, fast kinetic, and excellent selectivity and 1801094 (15 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 12. Typical components and strategies for the interface design of 2D nanosheet materials for heavy metal adsorption. renewability. The higher adsorption selectivity was attributed to the strong bonding between Pb(II) and the spatially distributed titanium hydroxyl groups on nanosheet surface, which indicates the great potential of clay mineral derivatives toward environmental remediation. To date, novel 2D nanosheet materials, due to their unique physicochemical properties and surface properties, have been developed on the basis of various nanotechnologies (Figure 12). To sum up, the functional design of novel 2D nanosheet materials with special interface structures can be divided into five cases: 1) 2D nanosheet composites which are combined by two or more different types of layer structures which can be monolayer or few layer structures. In this case, graphene-like or graphitic nanosheet materials (G/GO/RGO, h-BN, g-C3N4, TMDs) with better charge transfer and hole–electron seperation ability can be used to support other layer materials (metal oxide/hydroxide, TMDs, MXenes, clays, LDHs, MOFs, etc.) and reduce negatively charged heavy metal ions such as Cr(VI) and As(V) species. 2) Nanosheet composites which are combined by one layer material with other nanoparticles which are not in their layer morphologies. In this case, the size of nanoparticles must be small enough to enhance their surface reactivity and increase their adsorption capacity and rate. Meanwhile, the layer support material should be able to inhibit the corrosion and instability of the supported nanoparticles (such as NZVI). 3) Hybrid nanosheet materials which are produced by grafting organic or inorganic functional groups on the surface of one layer material. In this case, the stability of these functional Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 groups and their dynamics properties should be examined to exclude unstable combinations of two components. 4) Intercalated nanosheet materials which are some layer materials (mainly clay and LDH) intercalated by cations or anions. 5) The modification of one pristine layer material or complicated nanocomposites by element doping, redox method, or other advanced physicochemical methods. 5. Adsorption Mechanisms by Theoretical Calculations The reactions at the mineral–aqueous solution interface have attracted much attention during recent years.[178] The detailed atomic level understanding of the adsorption of heavy metal ions on hydrated oxide surface is still unclear, due to the hydrolysis of metal ions under different pH values. To date, DFT calculations have only been applied to the adsorption configurations of Pb(II) on some oxides surface, such as hydrated alumina, hematite surfaces,[179] and α-Al2O3–water interfaces.[180] The most important advantage of DFT calculation is that it can simulate the interfacial structure and the interactions between various ion species and microstructures on the nanosheet surface, as well as clarify the adsorption mechanism at atomic level for the complicated experimental phenomena observed, as also demonstrated in the study of boron nitride-based materials.[181] DFT calculations were performed for LDH used as a slow release fertilizer or a controlled release fertilizer for iron 1801094 (16 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de Figure 13. A) (110) and (−110) plane ELF slices of pristine Ti3C2(OH)2 and Ti3C2(O2H2−2mPbm) for 1/9 ML coverage. Reproduced with permission.[13] Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society. B) Three different models of M2X(OH)2/MXene, and the adsorption of Pb on M2X(OH)2/MXene. C) The formation energies of M2X(O2H2−2x)Pbx for different models when Pb coverage is 1/9 ML. b,c) Reproduced with permission.[183] Copyright 2016, Elsevier. D) The dehydration energy as a function of Ti number. E) The adsorption energy of Pb, Ca, and Mg on SiNSs and TP-SiNSs as a function of pH value and ion concentration. F) Partial charge density corresponding to the electron states at valence band and conduction band edges. Reproduced with permission.[48] release.[182] The thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy of these exchange reactions were calculated at room temperature to show the nature of the adsorption process. The interactions at the interface were explored to identify the acidity and alkalinity sites for each structure. Recently, the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) species on 2D alk-MXene was elucidated by DFT calculations.[13] Different Pb coverages are considered for the possible Pb adsorption on exposed titanium surfaces after exfoliation process, which is terminated by OH, ONa, or F group. The valence electron localization function (ELF) provides the bonding information by measuring electron localization density, which disclosed the Ti-OH terminal as key functional groups for the adsorption at Pb/MXene interface (Figure 13A). To understand the stability of Pb occupation in alk-MXene, the formation energies of some possible chemical reactions were calculated to evaluate the stability of Pb adsorption on alk-MXene. Later, MXenes with the highest valuable applied structure of M2X(OH)2 (M = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, and X = C or N) were systemically investigated by DFT calculations (Figure 13B).[183] The results demonstrated that the N doping in X site is more effective for Pb(II) adsorption than C doping (Figure 13C), due to the lower formation energies of M2N(O2H2−2xPbx) than those of M2C(O2 H2−2xPbx). The molecular structure of Pb(II) species and chemical properties of metal oxide surfaces are influenced by the solution pH and ion concentration,[184] which further complicated the adsorption reactions at the interface structure. The adsorption mechanism was previously studied by using the adsorption energies of Pb(OH)2[180] or Pb(NO3)2[13] molecule in literatures. Recently, based on DFT calculations, a simplified method was Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 1801094 proposed to calculate the adsorption mechanism as a function of pH value and ion concentration (Figure 13D,E).[48] The higher adsorption selectivity was attributed to the strong bonding between Pb(II) and the spatially distributed titanium hydroxyl groups, which was confirmed by the intense hybridization of Pb 5d orbitals with the surface orbitals of adsorbent (Figure 13F). 6. Summary and Outlook Novel 2D nanosheet materials, developed on the basis of various nanotechnologies, are promising alternative to the traditional adsorbents for more efficient heavy metal purification, due to their unique physical, mechanical, chemical properties and most importantly their modified surface properties. Many works have been done to the adsorption capacity, rate, and mechanism of 2D nanosheet materials for heavy metal purification, in which the parameters of adsorption isotherms, kinetics, thermodynamics, etc., have been mostly studied. Although more and more researchers performed selectivity, desorption, and regeneration test of their samples for future industry applications, the rational design of novel materials should focus on novel nanosheet materials which can selectively adsorb heavy metal ions from real water and possess long-term stability. Generally, the adsorption behavior varies with surface properties of adsorbents, which are dominated by the grafted surface organic/inorganic functional groups or the loaded nanoparticles on each nanosheet structure. Although some nanosheet materials such as MoS2, MgO have extra high adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions via cation exchange process, the second pollution or surface blocking problem still 1801094 (17 of 21) © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmatinterfaces.de needs to be solved. The long term stability of organic components on various nanosheet materials as well as their low selectivity also needs to be concerned for industry applications. And, to date, structure investigations of ion/adsorbent interface at atomic level remain scarce. The most important advantage of DFT calculation is that it can simulate the interactions between various ion species and nanosheet adsorbent surface, as well as local structure evolution during the adsorption process. For future development of novel nanomaterials for heavy metal purification, there is a growing demand for the comprehensive understanding of the interaction between metal ion and adsorbent surface as well as their interface structure by combining experimental approaches and DFT calculations. The systematic study of the adsorption mechanisms and their thermodynamics as a function of temperature, pH values, ion types, and concentrations would be necessary to understand and clarify the adsorption behaviors of various nanomaterials for heavy metal purification. Acknowledgements L.F. and Z.Y. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41572036), the National Science Fund for distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 51225403), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Central South University (Grant No. ZLXD2017005), the Innovation Driven Plan of Central South University (Grant No. 2018CX018), the National "Ten Thousand Talents Program" in China (Grant No. 2016-37), the State Key Lab of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University (2015–19), the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Project (Grant Nos. 2016RS2004 and 2015TP1006), and the Central South University Graduate Independent Exploration Innovation Program (Grant No. 2017zzts107). This article is part of the Advanced Materials Interfaces Hall of Fame article series, which highlights the work of top interface and surface scientists. Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. 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