Phenol removal from aqueous solution using synthetic V-shaped organic adsorbent: Kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamics studies

[Display omitted] •The utilization of a novel adsorbent Diphenyldiquinoline were investigated.•The optimum adsorption conditions were studied.•Important parameters such as solution temperature, pH, initial concentration, and agitation duration were investigated.•The adsorption process was investigated by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models. The utilization of a novel adsorbent Diphenyldiquinoline (DPDQ) were investigated for phenol elimination originating from a heavily polluted besmirched aquatic stage. The optimum adsorption conditions were included such as initial pollutant concentrations, reaction temperatures, and experimental duration. The initial pollutant concentration of 3 ppm, 25 °C reaction temperature, pH 4, and 15 min of adsorption duration was found to be optimum. The adsorption process was studied by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models, which demonstrated the Langmuir model to represent the process as compared to other models. The adsorption process followed as pseudo-second-order kinetics with rate constant (k) value of 0.288 g.mg−1.min.−1, and qe, qmax values of 23.26 and 15.15 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, all essential thermodynamic variables such as Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°) were calculated. The overall outcome shows the efficiency of DPDQ in phenol adsorption and it may become a viable solution in the near future.