Adsorptive removal of cationic dye from aqueous solutions by ZnO/ZnMn2O4 nanocomposite

ABSTRACTThe ZnO/ZnMn2O4 nanocomposite (ZnMn) was used as adsorbent for the removal of cationic dye Basic Yellow 28 (BY28) from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, TEM, Fourier transform infrared ray, BET, particle size distribution and zeta potential measurements. The adsorption parameters, such as temperature, pH and initial dye concentration, were studied. Kinetic adsorption data were analyzed using the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to fit the equilibrium data. The maximum adsorption capacity of BY28 was 48.8 mg g−1. Various thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS°, were calculated.