Synthesis and characterization of Ni-doped CaTiO3 nano-powders and their potential for the removal of Cd from wastewaters

A simple method was applied to construct Ni-doped CaTiO3 nano-powders from commercial CaCO3 and TiO2, characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, and FT-IR. The sample was composed of small grains with an average size of 78 nm. This method could be a useful, inexpensive, and efficient tool for the preparation of Ni-doped CaTiO3 nano-powders. The prepared sample was used for the removal of Cd2+ from water media. Results indicated that Cd2+ removal by Ni-doped CaTiO3 nano-powders was very efficient (100% removal yield) when the pH was adjusted to 4.5, the catalyst dosage amounted to 0.05 g, and the Cd2+ solution concentration was 60 mg.L-1. A pseudo-second-order kinetic model described the kinetics of Cd2+ removal.