Copper oxide nanoparticles for the removal of divalent nickel ions from aqueous solution

This study focused on the synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles by chemical precipitation method for the uptake of divalent nickel ions from aqueous media. The adsorption capacity was 15.4 mg/g under optimum conditions. The kinetic models were applied to find out the mechanism for the removal of nickel ions. The study indicated that the optimum conditions for nickel sequestration were pH = 7.0, initial concentration = 100 mg/L, nanoparticle dose = 0.2 g/L, contact time = 90 min, temperature = 26 +/- 1 degrees C and rpm = 180. These results could be useful for the sequestration of Ni(II) ions from wastewater.