Application of magnetic nanomodified CoFe₂O₄/polyvinylidene chloride thin film as a high-performance filtration system for wastewater treatment

Contamination of water with heavy metals constitutes a significant environmental problem. To improve the water purification processes, chemical modification of hydrophobic polymer matrices can be employed to enhance their surface characteristics. This research explored the potential of nanomodified polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to remediate heavy metal contamination in wastewater. Magnetic cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) were integrated into the PVC matrix to enhance its ability to adsorb heavy metals and enable magnetic separation. Metal concentrations were reported quantitatively using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The adapted PVC showed significantly improved performance, achieving an ion exchange capacity of ∼1.25 mmol/g and greater heavy metal removal compared to the unmodified material. Removal efficiency also increased with higher concentrations of CoFe₂O₄ NPs. The nanomodified PVC adsorbed substantially more heavy metal per gram (Qe) and maintained consistent performance over five reuse cycles. Although the modification process increased the material’s cost by 10%, it resulted in a fourfold increase in adsorption efficiency. Magnetically controlled separation appears feasible based on the enhanced lead and cadmium ion adsorption observed in filtration experiments under varying magnetic field strengths. The results of this study suggest that nanomodified PVC has potential as a cost-effective and effective adsorbent of heavy metals from wastewater.