Nickel ferrite bearing nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon as efficient adsorbent for the removal of highly toxic metal ion from aqueous medium

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 330; pp. 1351 - 1360
• Main Authors: Naushad, Mu, Ahamad, Tansir, Al-Maswari, Basheer M., Abdullah Alqadami, Ayoub, Alshehri, Saad M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.12.2017
• Subjects: Adsorption; Mesoporous; Nickel ferrite; Nitrogen-doped carbon; Toxic metal; Nitrogen-doped carbon; Toxic metal; Adsorption; Nickel ferrite; Mesoporous
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2017.08.079

[Display omitted] •Nickel ferrite bearing nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NiFe2O4-NC) was synthesized.•Adsorption of Hg2+ onto NiFe2O4-NC was fast, spontaneous and exothermic.•Monolayer adsorption capacity and SBET were 476.2mgg−1 and 147.4m2g−1, respectively.•The NiFe2O4-NC was regenerated by simply washing with 0.01M HCl solution. Nickel ferrite bearing nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NiFe2O4-NC) was prepared using polymer bimetal complexes and used for the removal of Hg2+ from aqueous medium. The nanocomposite was characterized using several analytical techniques such as SEM, TEM, FTIR, Raman, TGA/DTA, XRD, VSM, XPS and BET. The adsorption behavior of NiFe2O4-NC nanocomposites was investigated via adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic. The adsorption isotherm could be well described with Langmuir model, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 476.2mgg−1 at 25°C. The desorption results showed the best recovery of Hg2+ metal ion using 0.01MHCl. The remarkable adsorption properties are mainly attributed to the synergetic chemical coupling effects between NiFe2O4 nanoparticles and nitrogen doped graphitized carbon. The presented cost-effective strategy is developed to prepared NiFe2O4 nanocrystals embedded in nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon matrix using a single source precursor offers prospects in developing highly effective magnetic adsorbent for removal of toxic pollutant form contaminated water.