Fabrication and Response Surface Methodology for the Adsorption of Nickel Ferrite-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite for the Removal of Methylene Blue from Water

Abstract

This study is aimed at studying the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions by nickel ferrite/graphene oxide (NGO) nanocomposite. The nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller-specific surface area, and vibrating sample magnetometer analyses. The interactive effects of critical variables including pH, initial concentration, and contact time on the adsorption capacity of NGO for MB were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) according to composite central design. In RSM models, the predicted values agreed well with verification experiments, with a high correlation coefficient of 0.9887. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. The maximum capacity for adsorption of MB onto NGO was found to be 476.19 mg/g. Based on these results, NGO has the potential as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of MB from water.