Three-dimensional Ti3C2 MXene-POSS/V2O3@C nanocomposite aerogel for ultrafast and selective recovery of gold (III) at low temperatures.

[Display omitted] • A nanocomposite aerogel (MPVA) was fabricated for the first time. • MPVA exhibited ultrafast kinetics for Au(III) (only 10 min to reach equilibrium). • MPVA exhibited remarkable selectivity towards Au(III). • MPVA displayed excellent removal efficiencies (>99.9%) for Au(III) at 273 K. The scarcity and economic importance of gold has motivated the researchers to develop novel and efficient adsorbents to the increase of recycling from secondary waste streams. In this work, the three-dimensional (3D) Ti 3 C 2 MXene-POSS/V 2 O 3 @C aerogel (MPVA) with orderly network structure was fabricated by the interfacial assembly of MXene and freezing-induced preassembly. The new MPVA hybrid exhibited ultrafast kinetics (only 10 min to reach equilibrium), selectivity, and excellent trapping capacity for Au(III), owing to the reductive capture mechanism. The Langmuir model was used to describe the capture of Au(III) delivered by MPVA, achieving the maximum capture capacity of 1425.4 mg g−1 at 298 K. Moreover, MPVA displayed extremely high trapping efficiency (>99.9%) at 273 K, which suggests that this composite is promising for capturing Au(III) in cold temperatures. MPVA also shows good reusability after ten cycles. The results indicate that MPVA has great potential for efficient capturing from complex and cold aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]