Displacement and competitive sorption of organic pollutants on multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Displacement of lindane presorbed on the pristine and OH-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by phenanthrene, naphthalene, and atrazine, and competition of these compounds with lindane on the aforementioned sorbents were investigated. Displacement of lindane presorbed on MWCNTs by atrazine, naphthalene, and phenanthrene, and competitive sorption effect of these chemicals with lindane on MWCNTs followed the same order: atrazine > naphthalene > phenanthrene. The lowest competition and displacement of lindane by phenanthrene were mainly because of the strong interactions between these two chemicals, whereas interaction of lindane with atrazine and naphthalene was quite low. The more pronounced displacement of lindane by atrazine than naphthalene and higher competitive sorption of lindane with atrazine than with naphthalene can be ascribed to the larger molecular volume of atrazine; thus, the steric hindrance effect is higher relative to naphthalene. This study is valuable for evaluating influence of the coexisting organic compounds on sorption of primary solute towards MWCNTs in the environment.