Synthesis and characterization of zirconium-resorcinol phosphate; A new hybrid cation exchanger and dye adsorbent for water treatment

Synthesis and characterization of a new hybrid ion exchange material Zirconiumresorcinol Phosphate (ZrRP) is reported in this study. Synthetic conditions such as reactant concentrations and mixing volume ratio were varied to optimize the ion exchange properties of this material. The material has Na+ ion exchange capacity equal to 1.7 meq/g (dry). Xray diffraction spectra suggest that it is amorphous in nature. This ion-exchanger was also characterization by SEM, IR and TGA-DTG. Various studies such as determination of ion exchange capacity, elution behaviour and pH titration has been performed for different metal ions such as K+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Mg2+, Ni2+, Cd2+. This material has potential application for removal of these ions from the aqueous systems. Effect of anionic (SDS) and nonionic (TX-100) surfactants has also been studied on the adsorption behavior of ZrRP. The material has been found to be selective for Mg2+and Cd2+. We also found that the material showed remarkable adsorption behavior towards some dyes like malachite green and methylene blue. © 2016 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.