Titania Coated Manganese Ferrite Nanocomposite for Removal of Copper and Lead Ions from Wastewater: Preparation, Characterization and Adsorption Studies

Herein, sol gel method was used to prepare titania coated manganese ferrite nanocomposite (TMFN) for wastewater treatment. The prepared TMFN nanocomposite was characterised using FTIR, SEM XRD, VSM, EDX, and BET techniques. The characterisation studies confirmed the formation of the nanocomposite and gave good information about its morphology. Batch adsorption method was applied to determine the optimal adsorption conditions towards Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions. The studied parameters were pH of the solution, contact time, adsorbent amount, initial concentration of ions and temperature. After finding out and applying the optimal adsorption conditions, maximum adsorption capacities of 550 and 460 mg/g were achieved for Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions, respectively. Isotherm and kinetic studies revealed that the current adsorption process is fitted well by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order model. Thermodynamic investigations showed that the adsorption process is energetically favourable and takes place spontaneous with positive enthalpy change. Furthermore, the ability to regenerate and reuse the adsorbent confirmed its sustainability. The prepared nanocomposite could be reused many times with no significant loss in adsorption capacity.