Effective Removal of Crystal Violet Dye Using Neoteric Magnetic Nanostructures Based on Functionalized Poly(Benzofuran-co-Arylacetic Acid): Investigation of the Adsorption Behaviour and Reusability

Abstract

Synthetic dyes represent a significant class of contaminants released in the environment. Crystal violet is a triarylmethane dye used in several fields such as printing inks, the textile or paper industries, as well as in cell histology. Coating magnetic nanoparticles with functionalized polymers has been proved to improve their efficiency, offering unique properties for applications in wastewater treatment. The current paper focuses on preparing and characterising magnetic core-shell nanoparticles coated with poly(benzofuran-co-arylacetic acid) functionalized with folic acid as an organic shell. The new polymer-based magnetic nanostructures were applied for crystal violet extraction from aqueous solutions. The nanostructures were structurally and morphologically investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). While thermal and magnetic properties of the magnetic nanostructures were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and magnetization measurements (VSM). At the same time, crystal violet concentrations were determined by UV-VIS spectroscopy. The influence of initial dye concentration and contact time on the removal efficiency has been studied to achieve the optimum adsorption conditions. The dye adsorbent neoteric magnetic nanostructure was easily desorbed and reused, the adsorption capacity decreasing from 100% to 97.63% in the first five cycles, reaching a minimum of 88.74% after the 10th recycling step.