Synthesis, characterization of novel CFO-BFO nanocomposites and application in highly adsorptive removal of Pb2+ in water environment

The nanocomposites (NCs) of xCoFe2O4-(1-x)BiFeO3 were successfully synthesized by two-step hydrothermal method for selecting an optimize composition of CB55 (x = 0.5) for highly adsorptive removal of Pb2+ in water environment. The CB55 has uniform dispersion of nanoparticles with high specific surface area (48.5 m2/g), and negatively charged surface (-10.4 mV) in neutral pH environment. A nanocomposite dose of 1.0 g/l of CB55 could remove more than 99%, 95%, and 87% of 10, 25 and 50 ppm Pb2+ for 3 h, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of 87.62 mg/g was obtained at pH of 6.8 and 25 degrees C. The adsorption isotherms were fitted well by Langmuir model, while both the Elovich and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were possible to fit the adsorption kinetics at different initial concentrations of Pb2+. The adsorption mechanism of Pb2+ on CFO-BFO nanocomposites was mainly to the chemical force and minor to the electrostatic force.

Automated summary

The nanocomposites of CB55 were successfully synthesized using a two-step hydrothermal method, which showed high adsorptive removal of Pb2+ in water. CB55 had uniform dispersion of nanoparticles with high specific surface area and negatively charged surface. Under suitable conditions, CB55 nanocomposites exhibited high adsorption capacity and rate, mainly due to chemical forces.