Gamma Irradiation-Induced Preparation of Polyacrylonitrile Acrylamide Nano-silica for Removal of Some Hazardous Metals

Gamma-irradiation initiated polymerization was utilized to prepare polyacrylonitrile acrylamide nano-silica (P(AN-AM)-NS). Various analytical tools like XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and DTA and TGA were used to estimate the morphology, functional groups, and structure of P(AN-AM)-NS nanocomposite. The ability of P(AN-AM)-NS nanocomposite to remove Cs(I) , Pb(II), Cd(II), Sr(II), and Cu(II) ions from the multi-component system was evaluated by batch techniques considering the influence of (shaking time, pH, reaction temperatures), and capacity. At the optimum pH, distribution coefficients have selectivity order; Pb 2+ > Cs + > Cu 2+ > Cd 2+ > Sr 2+ . The kinetic data obey pseudo-second-order models. The capacity was reduced by increasing the heating temperatures of solid powder. The thermodynamic parameters showed an endothermic and spontaneous. The investigation proved that P(AN-AM)-NS nanocomposite is a suitable organic–inorganic sorbent for the sorption of the studied ions from liquid solutions and could be considered as potential material for purification of effluent polluted with these ions. Graphical Abstract