Fast and highly-efficient removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution by poly(styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid)-sodium-modified magnetic colloidal nanocrystal clusters

Magnetic colloidal nanocrystal clusters (MCNCs) modified with different amounts of poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) sodium (PSSMA) have been prepared through simple one-step solvothermal method for removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The prepared MCNCs are characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption-desorption technique and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Moreover, effects of the solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, ionic strength and initial dye concentration on MB adsorption onto the MCNCs are systematically investigated. The PSSMA-modified MCNCs show fast and highly-efficient MB removal capacity, which dramatically depends on the immobilization amounts of PSSMA, solution pH and adsorbent dosage. Their adsorption kinetics and isotherms exhibit that the kinetics and equilibrium adsorptions can be well-described by pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir model, respectively. These magnetic nanocomposites, with high separation efficiency, low production cost and recyclable property, are promising as functional adsorbents for efficient removal of cationic organic pollutants from aqueous solution. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.