Porous PVA/Zn–Fe–Mn oxide nanocomposites: methylene blue dye adsorption studies

Abstract

Adsorption is one of the noble techniques for remediation of organic and inorganic pollutants. The poly (vinyl alcohol) supported sol-gel and self-propagation routes have been used for the synthesis of porous ternary metal oxides nanocomposites. The optical, chemical bonding, crystallinity, morphological, textural, and electrochemical properties of the synthesized materials were characterized by DRS-UV–vis, FT-IR, XRD, SEM/EDX and TEM/HRTEM/SAED, BET, and CV/EIS techniques, respectively. The characterization of the nanocomposites confirmed their porous nature, high surface area, and better electrochemical properties. The synthesized nanomaterials were tested for the adsorption property of methylene blue dye. Important parameters such as the amount of PVA supported ternary metal oxide nanocomposite, pH of the solution, contact time, and concentration of methylene blue dye were optimized. For further understanding of the adsorption process, the adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics models were used. The adsorption tests revealed the presence of the chemisorption type of the adsorption process.

Keywords

• metal oxides
• polymer
• porous
• methylene blue dye
• analytical techniques