Removal of Cs+ and Co2+ ions from aqueous solutions using poly (acrylamide-acrylic acid)/kaolin composite prepared by gamma radiation

Synthesis of poly (acrylamide-acrylic acid)/kaolin composite (P(AM-AA)/K) using gamma radiation was carried out for removal of cesium and cobalt ions from aqueous solution. The prepared composite was characterized using FT-IR, SEM, XRD, TGA and DTA. Comparative adsorption behavior of poly (acrylamide-acrylic acid)/kaolin composite for adsorption of cesium and cobalt ions was studied. The adsorption studies were performed under different pH, temperature, and initial metal ion concentration. The obtained data are handled using adsorption kinetics, isotherm models and the thermodynamic behavior of the metal ion adsorption was calculated. It was found that the synthesized composite possesses a good swelling behavior due to the presence of kaolin. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model provided a better correlation for the experimental data in comparison to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The negative value of Delta G indicates the feasibility and spontaneity of the adsorption process. The positive Delta H suggests the endothermic nature of the adsorption.