Nickel ferrite bearing nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon as efficient adsorbent for the removal of highly toxic metal ion from aqueous medium

Nickel ferrite bearing nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NiFe2O4-NC) was prepared using polymer bimetal complexes and used for the removal of Hg2+ from aqueous medium. The nanocomposite was characterized using several analytical techniques such as SEM, TEM, FTIR, Raman, TGA/DTA, XRD, VSM, XPS and BET. The adsorption behavior of NiFe2O4-NC nanocomposites was investigated via adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic. The adsorption isotherm could be well described with Langmuir model, with the maximum adsorption capacity of 476.2 mg g(-1) at 25 degrees C. The desorption results showed the best recovery of Hg2+ metal ion using 0.01 M HCl. The remarkable adsorption properties are mainly attributed to the synergetic chemical coupling effects between NiFe2O4 nanoparticles and nitrogen doped graphitized carbon. The presented cost-effective strategy is developed to prepared NiFe2O4 nanocrystals embedded in nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon matrix using a single source precursor offers prospects in developing highly effective magnetic adsorbent for removal of toxic pollutant form contaminated water.