Synthesis, structural, magnetic property, and Cd(II) adsorption behavior of Ca-substituted MgFe2O4 nanomaterials in aqueous solutions

In the present study, magnetic nanomaterials (Mg 1− x Ca x Fe 2 O 4 , 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) were prepared via a simple sol-gel method. The samples were characterized using XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, FTIR, BET, and VSM. The structural and magnetic properties of prepared nanomaterials (NMs) were investigated, and the adsorption capacity of Cd 2+ from aqueous solution was evaluated via flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The impact of several factors on Cd 2+ adsorption such as contact time (1–60 min), pH (3–8), dose (0.003–0.03 g), and initial concentration of Cd 2+ (5–60 mg L −1 ) has been assessed. The adsorption capacity of Cd 2+ for the prepared NMs followed the pseudo-second order. Several isotherm models were analyzed, and the Langmuir model was found to be the best fit for NMs. Among as-prepared NMs, Mg 0.8 Ca 0.2 Fe 2 O 4 (MCF2, cubic 97%, orthorhombic 3%, q e 100 mg g −1 ) and Mg 0.2 Ca 0.8 Fe 2 O 4 (MCF8, cubic 18%, orthorhombic 83%, q e 90 mg g −1 ) samples exhibited the highest adsorption performance at conditions, viz., contact time 20 min, pH 7, NM dosage 3 mg, and ions at a concentration 60 mg l −1 . Cd removal percentages were achieved 93 and 75 for MCF2 and MCF8, respectively. Overall, the prepared MCF2 and MCF8 NMs could be used as effective adsorbents to eliminate toxic Cd 2+ from polluted aqueous solution.