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In this study, amino-functionalized magnetic particles (iron oxide@SiO2-NH2) with core-shell structures were synthesized and evaluated for rapid boron removal from aqueous solutions. The results showed that the specific surface area of the iron oxide@SiO2-NH2 (131.24 m2⋅g−1) increased greatly compared to pure iron oxide (30.98 m2⋅g−1). The adsorption equilibrium was less than 2 h, with an adsorption capacity of 29.76 mg⋅g−1 at pH = 6 at 15 °C. The quasi-second-order kinetic model described the boron adsorption process well, and both the Langmuir and Freundlich models were suitable for characterizing the adsorption isotherms. The zeta potential and XPS analysis before and after adsorption revealed that the main adsorption mechanism was the hydrogen bonding formation between the terminal -NH2 groups of the adsorbent and the boric acid. In addition, the adsorbent still maintained a high adsorption performance after five adsorption–desorption cycles, which illustrated that the iron oxide@SiO2-NH2 may be a potential adsorbent for environmental boron removal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements of the solubility and metastable zone width (MZW) of borax decahydrate in sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide aqueous were obtained. The onsets of nucleation were detected by the turbidity technique with the temperature range from 285 to 315 K. The results showed that the solubility of borax gradually decreased and the MZW broadened with the mass percentage of sodium carbonate increasing from 0% up to 9.22%. Correspondingly, the solubility and MZW had the same trend with the addition of sodium hydroxide. Meanwhile, the nucleation parameters of borax were determined and analysed to explain the trends obtained. Applying the classical three-dimensional nucleation theory approach, it was found that the addition of carbonate and hydroxide ions led to the values of solid-liquid interfacial energy ( γ ) increasing, which indicated the CO 3 2- and OH - ions adsorbed on the nuclei but suppressed nucleation rate., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests.