Fe3O4-multiwalled carbon nanotubes-bentonite as adsorbent for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions

Ahmed Abutaleb; Mohd Imran; Nasser Zouli; Afzal Husain Khan; Shahir Hussain; Mohammad Ashraf Ali; Omer Bakather; Mohammad Ashraf Gondal; Nadeem A Khan; Hitesh Panchal; Sasan Zahmatkesh

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137824

Fe₃O₄-multiwalled carbon nanotubes-bentonite as adsorbent for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions

Chemosphere. 2023 Mar:316:137824. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137824. Epub 2023 Jan 12.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Jazan University, P.O.Box 706, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: azabutaleb@jazanu.edu.sa.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Jazan University, P.O.Box 706, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Jazan University, P.O.Box 706, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Jazan University, P.O.Box 706, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Laser Research Group, Physics Department, Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology, &K.A.CARE Energy Research and Innovation Center, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Civil Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, New Delhi, 110025, India.
⁷ Mechanical Engineering Department, Government Engineering College Patan, Gujarat, India.
⁸ Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingenieríay Ciencias, Puebla, Mexico. Electronic address: sasan_zahmatkesh@yahoo.com.

PMID: 36640990
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137824

Abstract

The contamination of water due to present of dyes, poses serious health problems. Therefore, treatment of contaminated water is necessary to resolve this problem. A tailored co-precipitation technique has been successfully used to prepare Fe₃O₄-multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs)-Bentonite nanocomposite. The methylene blue present in aqueous solutions was removed using synthesized nanocomposite as adsorbent. The synthesized novel nanocomposite was analyzed by various characterization techniques. The scanning electron microscope analysis shows that Bentonite and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are well decorated with the MWCNTs matrix. The nanocomposite exhibited a high BET surface area of 204.01 m²/g with a pore volume of 0.367 cm³/g. The BJH adsorption average pore diameter was analyzed to be 7.2 nm. Moreover, the adsorption model was in agreement with the Redlich-Peterson model with adsorption capacity of 48.2 mg/g with a high nonlinear regression coefficient (R² = 0.985) and a low chi-square value (χ² = 6.18). Kinetics data were described well by pseudo-first-order and pseudo second order, models with a high non-linear regression coefficient (R² = 0.993). Adsorption of MB dye was determined to be a non-spontaneous and endothermic process since the values of ΔG, and ΔH were positive, and the entropy value was negative. Thus, the synthesized nanocomposite established itself as a promising candidate for the water treatment process.

Keywords: Adsorbent; Bentonite clay; Fe(3)O(4)-multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs); Methylene blue; aqueous solutions; wastewater treatment.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Bentonite
Coloring Agents
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Kinetics
Methylene Blue
Nanotubes, Carbon*
Water Pollutants, Chemical*

Substances

Nanotubes, Carbon
Methylene Blue
Bentonite
Coloring Agents
Water Pollutants, Chemical