High Malachite Green dye removal by ZrO2-g-C3N4 (ZOCN) meso-sorbent: Characteristics and adsorption mechanism

Abstract

Herewith we report the fabrication of ZrO2-g-C3N4 (ZOCN) composite employing ultrasonic power in the presence of methanol for the abatement of Malachite Green (MG) dye from aqueous solution. The synthesized meso-sorbent was characterized by a number of techniques where the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the presence of structural peaks belonging to both ZrO2 and g-C3N4. The successful integration of ZrO2 nanoparticles throughout the nitride layered structure was confirmed by the morphological analysis that exposed evenly distributed 24.34 nm size particles in agreement with the XRD data. The adsorption competency of the composite was assessed by MG uptake where up to 407 mg/g dye was removed by virtue of its mesoporous texture with a surface area of 95.69 m2/g and a pore radius of 15.85 Å as found by N2 adsorption technique. The dye adsorption matched with the pseudo-second-order kinetics model (R2 = 0.9924). This accomplishment is largely attributable to the small particle size, high porosity and the simplistic and rapid bonding of MG dye to the diverse species inside the mesoporous structure. Up to five rounds of successful recycling the MG dye elimination proved substantial removal efficiency. This exploration validated that ZOCN might be authorized as a potent, long-lasting, and stable candidate for hazardous organic contaminants removal.