Iron oxide hydroxide nanoflower assisted removal of arsenic from water

Non-magnetic polycrystalline iron oxide hydroxide nanoparticle with flower like morphology is found to play as an effective adsorbent media to remove As(III) from 300μgL−1 to less than 10μgL−1 from drinking water over wide range of pH. TEM image clearly reveals that the nanoparticle looks flower like morphology with average particle size less than 20nm. The maximum sorption capacity of the sorbent is found to be 475μgg−1 for arsenic at room temperature and the data fitted to different isotherm models indicate the heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface. The material can be regenerated up to 70% using dilute hydrochloric acid and it would be utilized for de-arsenification purposes. •The work includes synthesis of iron oxide hydroxide nanoflower and its applicability for the removal of arsenic from water.•The nanoparticle was characterized using modern instrumental methods like FESEM, TEM, BET, XRD, etc.•The maximum sorption capacity of the sorbent is found to be 475μgg−1 for arsenic at room temperature.•The sorption is multilayered on the heterogeneous surface of the nano adsorbent.•The mechanism of arsenic removal of IOH nanoflower follows both adsorption and ion-exchange. Non-magnetic polycrystalline iron oxide hydroxide nanoparticle with flower like morphology is found to play as an effective adsorbent media to remove As(III) from 300μgL−1 to less than 10μgL−1 from drinking water over wide range of pH. The nanoparticle was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD), BET surface area, FTIR, FESEM and TEM images. TEM image clearly reveals flower like morphology with average particle size less than 20nm. The nanoflower morphology is also supported by FESEM images. The maximum sorption capacity of the sorbent is found to be 475μgg−1 for arsenic and the data fitted to different isotherm models indicate the heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface. Study on adsorption kinetics shows that adsorption of arsenic onto iron oxide hydroxide nanoflower follows pseudo-second order kinetic. The material can be regenerated up to 70% using dilute hydrochloric acid and it would be utilized for de-arsenification purposes.