Preparation and characterization of magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes/ferrite nanocomposite and its application for the removal of aniline from aqueous solution

Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes/ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanocomposite was prepared by physical mixing. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirm the preparation of the ferrite nanoparticles. Different characterization techniques were used to study the morphological structure and surface analysis of the prepared magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes/ferrite nanocomposite, which verified that nanocrystallites of the ferrite aggregated around the multi-walled carbon nanotubes homogenously. The prepared magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes/ferrite nanocomposite was then used for the removal of aniline as an example of the organic pollutants from aqueous solution. The effect of nanocomposite mass, contact time, solution pH and solution temperature on the removal process was investigated. The magnetic nanocomposite showed a great efficiency for the removal of aniline with the ease of separation of the nanoparticles from the aqueous solution using an ordinary magnet. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.