Fe3O4 loaded chitin – A promising nano adsorbent for Reactive Blue 13 dye

Abstract

Herein we report the development of easily separable, Fe3O4 loaded chitin nanomaterial (MCH NM) via simple Co-precipitation route, as a promising adsorbent for removal of Reactive Blue 13 (RB13) dye from aqueous solution in visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm). This nanomaterial was characterized using distinctive physicochemical techniques; MCH NM show band gap energy of 2.257 eV, evaluated by Tauc's plot using UV–visible spectroscopy. MCH NM show excellent swelling property due to the tendency of the polymer chains to reach elongated configurations at equilibrium beyond which an elastic retractive force prevents further expansion. The mechanism of dye-adsorbent interaction is described on the basis of zero-point charge and zeta potential techniques. Batch adsorption studies on MCH NM show excellent adsorption activity of 199.02 mg/g in 22 min towards RB13 dye, maximum value ever reported for any reactive dye. Equilibrium adsorption data and adsorption kinetics were well fitted into Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo second order model predicting chemically rate controlled monolayer adsorption. Thermodynamic studies demonstrate that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic.