Trends on arsenic species removal by metal-based nanoadsorbents

Arsenic is a toxic pollutant in the natural environment. Humans can be primarily exposed to inorganic arsenic through drinking water and food which can cause cancer and skin lesions. Adsorption is one of the efficient and cost-effective processes for advanced water purification. Development of new nano-based adsorbents is essential to improve water quality. Nanoadsorbents have good potential in decreasing arsenic level below maximum contaminant levels. Due to higher active sites on their surface area, several nano-enabled adsorbents have been considered to play a critical contribution in the adsorption of arsenic in aqueous water so far. This study outlines the need for metal-based nanoadsorbents and describes arsenic removal mechanisms. The performance of emerging metal-based nanoadsorbents is benchmarked and their competitiveness is described. The main objectives are to highlight the current application of metal-based nanoadsorbents and their properties, adsorption mechanisms, and advantages/disadvantages of the application of metal oxide nanoadsorbents for arsenic removal.