A comprehensive review on magnetic carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube-based buckypaper for removal of heavy metals and dyes

Industrial effluents contain several organic and inorganic contaminants. Among others, dyes and heavy metals introduce a serious threat to drinking waterbodies. These pollutants can be noxious or carcinogenic in nature, and harmful to humans and different aquatic species. Therefore, it is of high importance to remove heavy metals and dyes to reduce their environmental toxicity. This has led to an extensive research for the development of novel materials and techniques for the removal of heavy metals and dyes. One route to the removal of these pollutants is the utilization of magnetic carbon nanotubes (CNT) as adsorbents. Magnetic carbon nanotubes hold remarkable properties such as surface-volume ratio, higher surface area, convenient separation methods, etc. The suitable characteristics of magnetic carbon nanotubes have led them to an extensive search for their utilization in water purification. Along with magnetic carbon nanotubes, the buckypaper (BP) membranes are also favorable due to their unique strength, high porosity, and adsorption capability. However, BP membranes are mostly used for salt removal from the aqueous phase and limited literature shows their applications for removal of heavy metals and dyes. This study focuses on the existence of heavy metal ions and dyes in the aquatic environment, and methods for their removal. Various fabrication approaches for the development of magnetic-CNTs and CNT-based BP membranes are also discussed. With the remarkable separation performance and ultra-high-water flux, magnetic-CNTs, and CNT-based BP membranes have a great potential to be the leading technologies for water treatment in future.