Comparative Studies of Dye Removal Efficiency of Surface Functionalized Nanoparticles with Other Adsorbents: Isotherm and Kinetic Study

Abstract

In present work, the synthesis of the humic acid functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles and their application in water treatment are reported. The bare and humic acid functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized using different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The synthesized magnetite nanoparticles coated with humic acid showed efficient removal of crystal violet dye from the aqueous solution. The functionalized magnetite nanoparticles were found to have higher adsorption capacity as compared to bare magnetite nanoparticles and the pure humic acid under specific conditions. The adsorption kinetics study was found in accordance with pseudo-second order kinetics while the isotherm data was observed to be in good agreement with the Tempkin isotherm. A comparative study of dye removal efficiency of humic acid functionalized magnetite nanoparticles with reported adsorbents has also been made.