Adsorptive Remediation of Hazardous Crystal Violet Dye using Ni1-xZnxFe2O4 Magnetic Nanocomposites

Abstract

Crystal violet (CV) dye is one of the most poisonous colors primarily produced in the textile industry. In the current study, the co-precipitation assisted ultrasonic radiation method was used to synthesized Ni1-xZnxFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles for the CV dye removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents were characterized by vibrating specimen magnetometer (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and nitrogen sorption analysis. XRD confirmed the successful synthesis of Ni1-xZnxFe2O4 single phase with a characteristic diffraction (311) peak at 2θ=35.5°. XPS analysis proved the successful substitution of Ni2+ by Zn2+ ions in the spinel structure. N2 sorption revealed that, the prepared adsorbent exhibited a mesoporous structure of slit shaped and narrow entrances, especially at high annealing temperatures. Results revealed that the magnetic Ni0.1Zn0.9Fe2O4 nano adsorbent offered a maximum adsorption capacity of 473.9 mg g−1 at pH 10.0, which is significantly greater than that of the other noted for CV removal. In addition, ferromagnetic nature was observed by Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 with a saturation magnetization value of 60.1 emg/g. Equilibrium and kinetic studies demonstrated that, the adsorption is of chemical nature and controlled with pore and film diffusion. Finally, we concluded that Ni1-xZnxFe2O4 can be utilized as a potential magnetic composite for the purification of CV contaminated water.