Synthesis Fe3O4/Talc nanocomposite by coprecipition-ultrasonication method and advances in hexavalent chromium removal from aqueous solution

The Fe3O4/Talc nanocomposite was synthesized by the coprecipitation-ultrasonication method. The reaction was carried out under a inert gas environment. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques (VSM), the surface area of the nanoparticles was determined to be 77.92 m2/g by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET). The kinetic data showed that the adsorption process fitted with the pseudo-second order model. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the adsorption kinetics and mechanisms of Cr(VI) by Fe3O4/Talc nanocomposite. The adsorption process was found to be highly pH-dependent, which made the material selectively adsorb these metals from aqueous solution. The isotherms of adsorption were also studied using Langmuir and Freundlich equations in linear forms. It is found that the Langmuir equation showed better linear correlation with the experimental data than the Freundlich. The thermodynamics of Cr(VI) adsorption onto the Fe3O4/Talc nanocomposite indicated that the adsorption was exothermic. The reusability study has proven that Fe3O4/Talc nanocomposite can be employed as a low-cost and easy to separate.