Removal of Cd (II) by using polypyrrole and its nanocomposites

• Synthesize of polypyrrole nanocomposite containing Al2O3.
• Products were investigated in terms of morphology and chemical structure.
• Batch adsorption experiment was done for removal of cadmium ions from aqueous media.
• Optimum conditions for removal were found to be pH 5 and equilibrium time 45 min.

Polypyrrole was successfully synthesized by using ferric chloride as an oxidant in the presence of sodium dodecylhydrogensulfonate, poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and poly(vinyl alcohol) as surfactants in aqueous media. The effect of polypyrrole and its nanocomposites for the removal of Cd (II) was investigated. The products were characterized in terms of, morphology and chemical structure. The FTIR spectra show that the intensity of peaks was related to the type of surfactant. The crystalline nature of nanocomposites was determined from XRD analysis. The extra peaks in the XRD pattern of nanocomposites indicate the presence of Al2O3 nanoparticles in the polypyrrole matrix. The aim of this research was to investigate the sorption characteristic of polypyrrole nanocomposites for the removal of Cd (II) from aqueous solution. The removal percentage of Cd (II) was carried out by using batch method. The optimum conditions of sorption were found to be: contact time of 45 min and pH 5. The Langmuir and Freundlich model are subjected to sorption data to estimate the sorption capacity and intensity. The data was better fitted by using Langmuir model.