Removal of chlorobenzene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene using novel poly-o-toluidine zirconium(IV) phosphotellurite exchanger

Novel hybrid exchanger poly-o-toluidine zirconium(IV) phosphotellurite was synthesized and physico-chemical properties of the material were well studied by FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM-EDX and TEM analysis. The composite exchanger showed good ion exchange capacity and excellent removal potential towards US Environmental Protection Agency listed priority pollutants like chlorobenzene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. The factors affecting the adsorption like time, pH and temperature were studied in detail using UV spectrophotometry. More than 90% of the pollutants were successfully removed using the exchanger. The composite also showed selectivity towards heavy metal ions, especially mercury ions. The sorption kinetics of the material was studied in detail using pseudo first order and pseudo second order kinetics. The material followed pseudo second order kinetic model indicating chemisorption of the pollutants. The composite can be successfully used for environmental remediation purposes.