Novel eco-friendly amino-modified nanoparticles for phenol removal from aqueous solution

Herein, the impact of using driedCaulerpa proliferananoparticles and silica-coatedCaulerpa proliferananoparticles for the removal of phenol from aqueous solution has been investigated. The chemical structure and morphology of both driedCaulerpa proliferananoparticles and silica-coatedCaulerpa proliferananoparticles were characterized by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Batch mode experiments were conducted depending on adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time, and initial phenol concentration. In order to investigate the adsorption mechanism of the phenol molecules to the surface of the nanoparticles, kinetic models including pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle diffusion models were executed. To describe the equilibrium isotherms, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were analyzed. However, the Langmuir isotherm model was agreed to be more significant with the obtained experimental data.