Piperazine-modified magnetic graphene oxide (Pip@MGO) as a novel nanocomposite for the effective removal of lead ions; using RSM optimization

Abstract

In this research, the piperazine-modified magnetic graphene oxide (Pip@MGO) nanocomposite was synthesized and utilized as a nano-adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) ions from environmental water and wastewater samples. The physicochemical properties of Pip@MGO nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDX, TGA, VSM and FT-IR analysis. In this method, the batch removal process were designed by response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) model. The results indicated that the highest efficiency of Pb(II) removal was obtained from the quadratic model under optimum conditions of prominent parameters (initial pH: 6.0, adsorbent dosage: 7 mg, initial concentration of lead: 15 mg L− 1 and contact time: 27.5 min). Adsorption data showed that lead ions uptake on Pip@MGO nanocomposite followed the Langmuir isotherm model equation and pseudo-second order kinetic model. High adsorption capacity (558.2 mg g− 1) and easy magnetic separation capability showed that the synthesized Pip@MGO nanocomposite has great potential in removal of Pb(II) ions from contaminated wastewaters.