Sono-adsorption of organic dyes onto CoFe2O4/Graphene oxide nanocomposite

CoFe2O4 loaded graphene oxide (CoF/GO) was synthesized for the sono-adsorption of methylene blue (MB) and methyl violet (MV) dye. The X-ray diffraction pattern of CoF/GO nanocomposite confirmed the inter-layer growth of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles in the GO. The dye adsorption efficiency increased with the increase in pH, time, dye concentration, and adsorbent dosage. The kinetic data were fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetics (R-2-1) with theoretical adsorption capacities found closer to the experimental values. The adsorption process was best explained by the Freundlich model due to the heterogeneity of the surface and involvement of physical forces like electrostatic interactions and pi-pi interactions. The monolayer adsorption capacity was 157 and 122 mg g(-1) for MB and MV, respectively. From thermodynamic parameters, it was concluded that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The thermally regenerated CoF/GO showed a performance loss of -18% after the fourth cycle. From this study, it was conclusive that the magnetic CoF/GO nanocomposite could be used as an economical adsorbent for the removal of organic dyes from wastewater via the sono-adsorption process.