High-efficient and rapid removal of anionic and cationic dyes using a facile synthesized sole adsorbent NiAlFe-layered triple hydroxide (LTH)

Abstract

It would be extremely momentous to familiarize a low-cost sole adsorbent NiAlFe-layered triple hydroxides (LTHs) having a strong sorption affinity towards both anionic and cationic dyes. Using the urea hydrolysis hydrothermal method LTHs were fabricated and by altering the ratio of participant metal cations the adsorbent was optimized. BET analysis revealed that the optimized LTHs possess an elevated surface area (160.04 m2/g) while TEM and FESEM analysis portrayed the stacked sheets-like 2D morphology. LTHs were employed for the amputation of anionic congo red (CR) and cationic brilliant green (BG) dye. The adsorption study showed that within 20 and 60 min, respectively, maximum adsorption capacities were achieved at 57.47 mg/g and 192.30 mg/g for CR and BG dye. Adsorption isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamics study revealed that both chemisorptions with physisorptions were the assertive factor for the dye encapsulation. This enhanced adsorption performance of the optimized LTH for the anionic dye is attributed to its inherent anions exchange properties and new bond formation with the adsorbent skeleton. Whereas for the cationic dye, it was because of the formation of strong hydrogen bonds, and electrostatic interaction. Morphological manipulation of LTHs, formulates the optimized adsorbent LTH111, provokes the adsorbent for this elevated adsorption performance. Overall, this study revealed that LTHs have a high potential for the effectual remediation of dyes from wastewater as a sole adsorbent at a low cost.