Dodonaea angustifolia Extract-Assisted Green Synthesis of the Cu2O/Al2O3 Nanocomposite for Adsorption of Cd(II) from Water.

Abstract

The enhanced worldwide concern for the protection and safety of the environment has made the scientific community focus their devotion on novel and highly effective approaches to heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) pollutant removal. In this research, Dodonaea angustifolia plant extract-mediated Al2O3 and Cu2O nanoparticle (NP) syntheses were accomplished using the coprecipitation method, and the Cu2O/Al2O3 nanocomposite was prepared by simple mixing of Cu2O and Al2O3 NPs for the removal of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution. Therefore, an efficient green, economical, facile, and eco-friendly synthesis method was employed, which improved the aggregation of individual metal oxide NPs. The chemical and physical properties of the nanocomposite were examined by different characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Furthermore, the performances of the nanoadsorbents for the adsorptive eradication of Cd2+ ions from water were investigated. The influence of pH, contact time, initial Cd quantity, and nanocomposite amount on adsorption effectiveness was carefully studied. The adsorption rates of the Cu2O/Al2O3 nanocomposite were rapid, and adsorption equilibrium was attained within 60 min for 97.36% removal of Cd(II) from water. The adsorption isotherm data were best fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models with the highest adsorption ability of 4.48 mg/g. Therefore, the synthesized Cu2O/Al2O3 nanocomposite could be a potential candidate for a highly efficient adsorbent for heavy metal ion removal from aqueous solutions.