The thermodynamics of sequestration of toxic copper(II) metal ion pollutants from aqueous media by L-cysteine methyl ester modified glassy carbon spheres

L-Cysteine Me ester-modified glassy carbon powder (CysOMe-GC) has been shown to have potential for the removal of toxic heavy metal ions, such as copper(II), cadmium(II), and arsenic(III), from real water samples. To develop this material for environmental applications, we must develop an understanding of the thermodn. parameters controlling the uptake of metal ions by the modified carbon powder. Here, we characterize the material using XPS, before investigating the effect of varying the soln. pH, the concn. of copper(II) ions, and the mass of CysOMe-GC powder added to the soln. using square wave voltammetry (SWV). These data allow us to understand the thermodn. controlling the copper(II) ion uptake and elucidate that the adsorption of copper(II) onto the CysOMe-modified surface is controlled by a Freundlich isotherm. [on SciFinder(R)]