Novel Fe3O4@PPy/TCPP nanocomposite as a superior adsorbent for elimination of toxic Hg(II) and dye pollutants

Herein, the synthesis of functionalized polymer microspheres core-shell structure is successfully fabricated by a process involving three steps: (1) preparation of superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles through a co-precipitation method, (2) Fe3O4 nanoparticles were functionalized using polypyrrole (PPy), a natural amino acid, to graft Hg(II) and azo dyes onto the surface of the nanocomposite, and (3) immobilization of meso-tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin based on Fe3O4 /PPy core-shell by a facile route. To recluse investigation of the ratio effect of core and shell amounts, the adsorbent was prepared with two different percentages: 2.53 and 33. In this work, some critical factors on the efficiency of adsorbent have been studied, including concentration and time. Structural and morphological changes induced by modification were confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transforms infrared, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. UV-visible (UV-vis) spectra illustrate the elimination percentages of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO). Inductively coupled plasma analysis was used to investigate the removal of Hg(II) ions. The results illustrated that the adsorbent shows efficiency up to 100%. Furthermore, UV-vis spectroscopy was used to show that the prepared nanocomposite removes MB and MO dyes with a yield of 100% and 95%, respectively. The porous structure was also investigated by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, and a type VI isotherm was obtained. The magnetic nanocomposite is featured with superparamagnetism, excellent reusability, and a high anti-interfering ability to remove Hg(II) toxic ions and organic pollutants such as MB and MO in an aqueous medium at room temperature.