Functionalized copper oxide–zinc oxide nanocomposite: synthesis and genetic programming model of dye adsorption

The functionalized copper oxide–zinc oxide nanocomposite (FCZN) was synthesized and characterized using Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and BET. Dye removal from aqueous solution was done in a batch system using FCZN as an adsorbent. The effects of adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, pH, temperature, and additive salts on dye removal were investigated. Isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics of dye adsorption were studied. Equilibrium and kinetic data were fitted by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic, respectively. The thermodynamic data showed that dye adsorption was spontaneous, endothermic, and physical reaction. In addition, genetic programming (GP) was applied in order to predict dye removal using an explicit formula. The results of proposed GP models were in close agreement with the experimental data.