In the present work, a tubular nano-copper sulfide was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. The physical and chemical properties of the prepared materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET. The synthesized copper sulfide was used as an adsorbent for removing 17α-ethynyl estradiol (EE2) and exhibited excellent adsorption properties. At 25 °C, 15 mg of adsorbent was applied for 50 mL of 5 mg/L EE2 solution, adsorption equilibrium was reached after 180 min, and the adsorption rate reached nearly 90%. In addition, the kinetics, isothermal adsorption, and thermodynamics of the adsorption process were discussed on the basis of theoretical calculations and experimental results. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of copper sulfide was calculated to be 147.06 mg/g. The results of this study indicated that copper sulfide was a stable and efficient adsorbent with promising practical applications.
Keywords: 17α-Ethynyl estradiol; Adsorption; Copper sulfide.