# Reusable SnS2‑Based Cotton Fabric Composites for Efficient Decontamination of Water from Lead Ions under Continuous Flow Conditions

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a reusable cotton fabric coated with SnS2-based materials that efficiently removes lead ions from water under continuous flow conditions.

## Contribution

The first demonstration of metal sulfide-based composites on cotton fabric that can be regenerated and reused for lead decontamination.

## Key findings

- SnS2/DMA and SnS2/acid showed fast Pb2+ removal kinetics (≤4 min) and high sorption capacities.
- The composites exhibited strong selectivity for Pb2+ over other cations and across various pH levels.
- The materials can be regenerated and reused, marking a breakthrough for metal sulfide sorbents.

## Abstract

Lead is a toxic heavy metal that pollutes the environment
and accumulates
in the human body, causing many severe health issues. Metal sulfides
have emerged as promising sorbents for rapidly decontaminating Pb2+-containing wastewater, showing exceptional sorption kinetics,
capacities, and selectivity against common competitive ionic species.
In this study, we present modified SnS2 phases, namely,
SnS2(DMA)0.7(H2O)0.3 (SnS

2

/DMA, DMA = dimethylamine)
and Sn1–x
S2·yH2O (SnS

2

/acid), which demonstrated efficient removal of Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Both materials exhibited fast
kinetics (≤4 min), high sorption capacities (838.0 mg g–1 for SnS

2

/DMA and 190.0 mg g–1 for SnS

2

/acid), remarkable selectivity
toward Pb2+ over several competing cations and in various
pH values, because of strong Pb–S covalent interactions. Aiming
for practical wastewater treatment, we immobilized SnS

2

/DMA and SnS

2

/acid on cotton fabrics, marking
this as the initial application of metal sulfides immobilized onto
cotton substrates. The metal sulfide-fabric composites were utilized
to remove Pb2+ under continuous flow conditions, showing
significant Pb2+ sorption properties. Significantly, the
metal sulfide-based composites can be regenerated and reused over
several Pb2+ sorption cycles. This feature, demonstrated
for the first time in metal sulfide materials, constitutes a breakthrough
for this class of sorbents.