Application of kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic models for the adsorption of Co(II) ions on polyaniline/polypyrrole copolymer nanofibers from aqueous solution

•The PANI/PPy copolymer was nanofiber in shape and almost uniform in morphology.•FTIR confirms the presence of both PANI and PPy in the synthesized copolymer.•This copolymer nanofibers showed considerable potential for the removal of Co(II).•Adsorption process was controlled by pseudo-second-order model.•After desorption, adsorbent shows considerable removal efficiency for adsorption.

The aim of this research is to investigate sorption characteristics of polyaniline/polypyrrole copolymer nanofibers (PANI/PPy copolymer nanofibers) for the removal of Co(II) ions from aqueous solution. The adsorbent is characterized using FE-SEM, TEM, FTIR, TGA, DSC and BET surface area. The sorption of Co(II) ions by batch method is applied and the optimum conditions are investigated. In optimum condition, removal efficiency was 99.68% for 100 mg L−1 Co(II) solution. It is found that temperature has a positive effect on the removal efficiency. It can be concluded that PANI/PPy copolymer nanofibers are potentially able to removal of Co(II) ions from aqueous solutions.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide