Synthesis and characteristics of polyaniline/zirconium oxide conductive nanocomposite for dye adsorption application

The organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite of polyaniline/zirconium oxide was synthesized through the chemical method, using the ammonium persulfate as an oxidant. The developed adsorbent was characterized using various analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The developed nanocomposites i.e. polyaniline modified with ZrO2 and polyaniline were used as effective adsorbents for the rapid removal of methylene blue from the solvent phase. The effects of different system variables such as initial dye concentration, temperature and contact time were well studied and investigated. From the optimized parameter results obtained it was found that as contact time increases, the dye removal efficiency also increases. Additionally as the temperature increased the amount of adsorption also increased. The results indicated that the polyaniline modified with ZrO2 and polyaniline nanocomposite have considerable potential for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution. The adsorption capacities (qmax) of polyaniline modified with ZrO2 (PANI/ZrO2) and polyaniline (PANI) for methylene blue in terms of monolayer adsorption were 77.51 and 19230 mg/g, respectively. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.