Remarkable adsorption capacity of Ni-doped magnolia-leaf-derived bioadsorbent for congo red

A novel high-performance porous carbon material, nickel-doped magnolia-leaf-derived porous carbon (Ni/MPC), is synthesized by a KOH activation process and nickel-doping strategy. The morphology, microstructure, and element composition of Ni/MPC are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Removal of anionic dye congo red (CR) from contaminated water was performed in a batch reactor system to obtain adsorption kinetics and isotherms. The results showed that pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm matched well for the adsorption of CR onto Ni-doped MPCs. Compared with previously reported adsorbents, Ni/MPCs demonstrated a superior CR dye adsorption capability. The results of the present study substantiate that NiIMPC is a promising adsorbent for the removal of the anionic dyes from wastewater. (C) 2016 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.