Facile fabrication of novel analcime/sodium aluminum silicate hydrate and zeolite Y/faujasite mesoporous nanocomposites for efficient removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous media

Abstract In this work, novel mesoporous sodium aluminum silicate hydrate/analcime and zeolite Y/faujasite nanocomposites were fabricated utilizing the hydrothermal method using glutamic acid and L-arginine as organic structure-directing agents. In aqueous solutions, the fabricated nanocomposites showed high efficiency in removing Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions. Also, the nanocomposites were successfully utilized for the removal of the aforementioned ions from wastewater, which was collected from an electroplating factory in the 10th of Ramadan City, Egypt. The characterization of the fabricated nanocomposites was carried utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area (BET) instruments. The BET surface area, total pore volume, and average pore diameter of analcime/ sodium aluminum silicate hydrate composite were 12.65 m2/g, 9.049E-2 cc/g, and 28.60 nm, respectively. Also, the BET surface area, total pore volume, and average pore diameter of zeolite Y/faujasite composite were 19.17 m2/g, 5.103E-2 cc/g, and 106.50 nm, respectively. Moreover, the majority of pores of the fabricated nanocomposites belong to the mesoporous type. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order model predominated the adsorption processes. The thermodynamic parameters confirmed the spontaneous, exothermic, and chemisorptions nature of adsorption processes. The maximum adsorption capacities of zeolite Y/faujasite and sodium aluminum silicate hydrate/analcime nanocomposites toward copper ions were 105.82 and 77.52 mg/g, respectively. Also, the maximum adsorption capacities of zeolite Y/faujasite and sodium aluminum silicate hydrate/analcime nanocomposites toward lead ions were 83.26 and 58.86 mg/g, respectively.