ZnO₂‐Based Carbon Composite Doped with Sulphur for the Removal of Highly Toxic Thiamethoxam from Wastewater

Abstract

The ongoing exponential increase in population intensifies the overexploitation of food, water, energy, and other resources. Overcoming the problem has emerged as a tedious task, and the most probable solution seems to be upgradation in agricultural practices. To achieve a superior quality harvest with maximum yield, synthetic herbicides, insecticides, weedicides, and pesticides have been extensively developed and employed. These pesticides generally wash down to the water bodies, polluting the water and causing serious health issues for human, animal, and aquatic lives. The suggested study uses a zinc peroxide (ZnO2) based carbon composite doped with sulphur adsorbent to remove the very hazardous pesticide thiamethoxam (TMX) from the contaminated water in a cost‐effective and efficient manner. In an acidic environment, a remarkable removal efficiency of 99.5 % is achieved at pH levels 1–3. Additionally, at pH level 11, an impressive removal rate of 96.4 % is obtained. Furthermore, this composite material exhibits a high adsorption capacity of 142.86 mg/g. The batch studies experiments revealed that the adsorption of TMX. complied with the Langmuir isotherm model and demonstrated Pseudo‐second order kinetics. The adsorbent eco‐friendly and effective, can be prepared easily, is ecologically friendly, and does not cause any sort of secondary pollution. The present work has high potential to take the science of water purification to the next step further.