Surface modified magnetic nanoparticles as efficient and green sorbents: Synthesis, characterization, and application for the removal of anionic dye

• Synthesis of nano-sized modified iron oxide magnetic particles.
• Characterization of the modified MNPs by XRD, TEM, VSM, FT-IR techniques.
• Design of experiments for removal of SY dye using MNPs.
• Adsorption isotherm and kinetic investigation of the reaction.

The object of this study was to evaluate the removal efficiency of sunset yellow (SY) anionic dye from aqueous solutions by using new surface modified iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Pure Fe3O4 MNPs were synthesized and then functionalized by aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), through a chemical precipitation method. Characterization of the prepared MNP adsorbents was performed by furrier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). According to XRD and TEM results, average size of the magnetic Fe3O4/APTES NPs was estimated to be around 12 nm. The prepared magnetic adsorbent can be well dispersed in the water and easily separated magnetically from the medium after loaded with adsorbate. In the adsorption process, the effect of main experimental parameters such as pH of dye solution, initial concentration of SY dye, reaction time, and amount of MNP adsorbent on the removal of SY were studied and optimized. The small amount of this adsorbent (10 mg) is applicable for the removal of high concentrations of SY dye in reasonable time (17 min), at pH 3.1. Additionally, the adsorption studies show that the Langmuir model is a suitable model to explain the experimental data with high correlation coefficient.

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