Adsorptive removal studies of Rhodamine B by PEG capped polyaniline/TiO₂/CuO composite

The availability of pure and fresh water is the prime need of human beings for survival. The fact that the rate of water pollution is alarmingly increasing is making scientists think of ways to minimize the pollution effects. Among the numerous techniques, adsorption is the most cost-effective and easy method for removing pollutants from water bodies. In this study, a ternary PEG capped polyaniline/TiO2/CuO composite with excellent surface area is synthesized, and its adsorption studies carried out using Rhodamine B, one of the strongest organic pollutants. The characterization studies of the prepared composites have been done using XRD, FT-IR, HR-TEM, DLS, zeta potential, BET, and XPS analyses. Isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies of adsorption have been done for the prepared composite to evaluate its adsorptive efficiency. The adsorption studies of RhB dye using the synthesized composite followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The kinetics study for the adsorption process indicates that pseudo second order kinetics fits best with the adsorption process taking place on the PANI/TiO2/CuO composite. The thermodynamic studies reveal the spontaneity of the process and the exothermic behavior at lower temperatures. The results prove the efficiency of the synthesized adsorbent towards environmental remediation studies.