Adsorption applications of synthetically prepared PANI-CuO based nanocomposite material

In this work, we have used a polyaniline and cupric oxide-based nanocomposite material (PANI-CuO) for the adsorption of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cr⁶⁺ ions from contaminated water. FTIR, FESEM, EDX and XRD methods were used in the characterisation of PANI-CuO. The maximum percentage removal of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cr⁶⁺ ions was found to be 79.9%, 78.9% and 82.1% at 1 g of PANI-CuO for 100 mL of contaminated water. The suitability order of the isotherm model was observed as Langmuir > Freundlich > Elovich, whereas the pseudo first order model was best fitted as compared to the pseudo second order model. The rate constants were evaluated as 1.441, 1.801 and 1.661 g mg^?1 min ^?1, respectively. The values of ΔG⁰ were calculated to be ?287.4, ?849.6, and ?728.9 kJ mol^?1 for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Cr⁶⁺ ions, respectively.