Adsorptive removal of mordant brown dye using cerium seleno borate supported on nickel foam (CexSeyB/NF)

This study introduces a new cerium seleno borate nanocomposite supported on nickel foam (CexSeyB/NF), prepared by co-precipitation, as a very potent adsorbent for wastewater treatment to mitigate the growing risk posed by the recalcitrant poisonous Mordant Brown 15 dye. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for analysis. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to optimize the adsorbent dosage, dye concentration, temperature, pH, shaking speed (rpm), and contact time. At optimal conditions (0.01 g dose, 45 ppm dye, pH 6–7, 100 rpm, 30℃, and 35 min), the adsorption values were 60.2, 158.7, 204.1, 238.1, 285.7, and 357.1 mg/g for Ce 0.2 Se 0.2 B/NF, Ce 0.2 Se 0.3 B/NF, Ce 0.3 Se 0.5 B/NF, Ce 0.4 Se 0.5 B/NF, Ce 0.2 Se 0.5 B/NF and Ce 0.2 Se 0.4 B/NF, respectively. Additionally, the equilibrium adsorption data revealed a good fit with both the Langmuir and Temkin models, while the sorption kinetics confirmed the pseudo 2nd order model, resulting in the maximum adsorption capacity of 357.1 mgg − 1 (Langmuir model) for Ce 0.2 Se 0.4 B/NF. The values of thermodynamic parameters (∆G˚ = -8.466, ∆H˚ = -61.447, and ∆S˚ = -0.178 kJ/mol) at 303 K indicated that the sorption process was exothermic, favorable and spontaneous. The results of this study makes Ce x Se y B/NF a potential candidate based on their excellent adsorption capacity, reusability, economical and environmental friendly to be useful in real-world industrial wastewater treatment.