Abstract
A novel porous spherical-shaped magnesium zinc binary oxide (MZO) was successfully prepared for the first time using a chemical process for fluoride removal and photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) dye degradation. XRD, FESEM, and TEM were studied for phase formation, topographic, crystallographic, and detailed structural information. The surface charge and optical properties of the adsorbent were studied by zeta potential and photoluminescence spectra. The synthesized nano-adsorbents showed high fluoride removal capacity (43.10 mg/g) and photocatalytic activity with a degradation efficiency of 97.83% and 78.40% for MB and CR, respectively. The adsorption was strongly pH-dependent and worked well in the range 6–9. The kinetic studies were performed for both fluoride removal and dye degradation and were found to follow pseudo-second-order and first-order rate law, respectively. The samples were found to be extremely reusable and selective for fluoride removal in presence of co-ions such as NO3-, SO42-, and Cl-. The basic fluoride adsorption process of the samples can be related to ion exchange and electrostatic interactions, according to XPS and FTIR data. The detailed mechanistic study of photocatalytic dye degradation showed that the reaction occurred via OH radicals. Thus, MZO could be considered an effective and quick adsorbent for water purification in fluoride-containing groundwater and industrial dye wastewater.
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The authors are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology for its financial support (DST STI HUB Project Sanction letter No – SEED/TITE/2019/84)
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Bholanath Panda, Debasish Mondal, Supriya Mandal, Julekha Khatun, and Arnab Mukherjee. The concept and overall supervising of the work as well as preparing the manuscript were carried out by Dr. Debasis Dhak. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Panda, B., Mondal, D., Mandal, S. et al. One-pot solution combustion synthesis of porous spherical-shaped magnesium zinc binary oxide for efficient fluoride removal and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and Congo red dye. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 81386–81402 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22551-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22551-6