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. 2023 Aug 8;13(1):12845.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38420-2.

Synthesis of a novel multifunctional organic-inorganic nanocomposite for metal ions and organic dye removals

Ahmed Elmekawy  1   2 , Qui Quach  1 , Tarek M Abdel-Fattah  3   4
Affiliations

Synthesis of a novel multifunctional organic-inorganic nanocomposite for metal ions and organic dye removals

Ahmed Elmekawy et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

In this study, we used solvent assisted mechano-synthesis strategies to form multifunctional organic-inorganic nanocomposites capable of removing both organic and inorganic contaminants. A zeolite X (Ze) and activated carbon (AC) composite was synthesized via state-of-the-art mechanical mixing in the presence of few drops of water to form Ze/AC. The second composite (Ze/L/AC) was synthesized in a similar fashion, however this composite had the addition of disodium terephthalate as a linker. Both materials, Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC, were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Powdered X-ray diffraction (P-XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Accelerated Surface Area and Porosimetry System (ASAP), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The SEM-EDS displayed the surface structure and composition of each material. The sodium, oxygen and carbon contents increased after linker connected Ze and AC. The P-XRD confirmed the crystallinity of each material as well as the composites, while FTIR indicated the function groups (C=C, O-H) in Ze/L/AC. The contaminant adsorption experiments investigated the effects of pH, temperature, and ionic strength on the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) and Co(II) for each material. In MB adsorption, the first-order reaction rate of Ze/L/AC (0.02 h-1) was double that of Ze/AC (0.01 h-1). The reaction rate of Ze/L/AC (4.8 h-1) was also extraordinarily higher than that of Ze/AC (0.6 h-1) in the adsorption of Co(II). Ze/L/AC composite achieved a maximum adsorption capacity of 44.8 mg/g for MB and 66.6 mg/g for Co(II) ions. The MB adsorption of Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC was best fit in Freundlich model with R2 of 0.96 and 0.97, respectively, which indicated the multilayer adsorption. In the Co(II) adsorption, the data was highly fit in Langmuir model with R2 of 0.94 and 0.92 which indicated the monolayer adsorption. These results indicated both materials exhibited chemisorption. The activation energy of Ze/L/AC in MB adsorption (34.9 kJ mol-1) was higher than that of Ze/L/AC in Co (II) adsorption (26 kJ mol-1).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
P-XRD of AC, Ze, Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC composite.
Figure 2
Figure 2
FTIR of AC, Ze, Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) The SEM of Ze/AC, and (b) The EDS of Ze/AC.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) The SEM of Ze/L/AC, and (b) The EDS of Ze/L/AC.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm of Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The screening MB adsorption capacity and Co(II) adsorption capacity of AC, Ze, Ze/AC, Ze/2L/AC, and Ze/LAC.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effects of pH on (a) MB removal by Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC composite, (b) Co(II) removal by Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC composites.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The effect of various concentration of KNO3 (0 M, 0.01 M, 0.1 M) on the (a) MB adsorption capacities of Ze/AC and Ze/LAC, (b) Co(II) adsorption capacities of Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The effect of temperatures (294 K, 303 K, 308 K, 313 K) on (a) the percentage of MB removed by Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC, and (b) the percentage of Co(II) removed by Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The removal percentage of (a) MB and (b) Co(II) by various masses of Ze/AC and Ze/L/AC.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Proposed adsorption mechanism of Co(II) and methylene blue (MB) by Ze/L/AC.
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