Fabrication, Characterization, Ion-Exchange studies and binary separation of Polyaniline/Ti(IV) iodotungstate composite Ion-Exchanger for the treatment of water pollutants

Abstract

There has been substantial research on the ion-exchange media for the remediation of waste water containing heavy metal ions. This fact has led efforts to develop new and advanced composite ion-exchangers for the removal of toxic heavy metal ion for environmental remediation. Ion-exchange technique is one of the eco-friendly and economically viable techniques. The conducting polymer-based composites have been synthesized by using simple sol–gel method and characterized by using various techniques including Fourier Transform- Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis - Differential Thermal Analysis (TGA-DTA) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) studies. The ion-exchange materials were explored for different physico-chemical properties such as ion-exchange capacity, effect of eluent concentration, elution behavior, pH titration, thermal and chemical stability were also carried out to exploit their ion-exchange capabilities. The distribution coefficient studies of composite ion-exchanger were investigated for different metal ions in different solvent systems. On the basis of distribution studies, the material was found to be highly selective for toxic heavy metal ion Pb(II). The selectivity of the composite for Pb2+ in 0.1 M HNO3 medium along with their reproducible quantitative separation from binary mixture. Therefore, the newly synthesized ion-exchangers can be used as potential ion-exchange materials for environmental remediation. Comparative study of the ion-exchange properties of PANI/Ti(IV) iodotungstate ion-exchanger with Ti(IV) iodotungstate (inorganic ion-exchanger) has been done.