Equilibrium and kinetic studies on methylene blue adsorption by simple polyol assisted wet hydroxyl route of NiFe2O4nanoparticles.

A novel approach has been adopted in the synthesis of nickel ferrite nanoparticles and their adsorption capacity was studied in the effective removal of MB dye from aqueous solution. Nanoparticles have a main advantage of treating large amount of wastewater within a short time and producing less contamination. The synthesized Spinel ferrites show high adsorption capacity, magnetic performance, and an eco-friendly material which effectively removes dyes. In the current work Nickel ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized by wet hydroxyl chemical route using ethylene glycol as a chelating agent. XRD analysis indicates cubic spinel phase nickel ferrite and the average crystallite size is found to be 56.11 nm. An FTIR spectrum illustrates two intense absorption bands in the range between 1000 and 400 cm -1 corresponding to the presence of nickel ferrite. The shape and morphology of Nickel ferrite are examined by SEM analysis. The constituent elements and chemical composition analyzed using EDX spectrum showed that the estimated atomic percentages of O, Fe, and Ni are in good agreement with the theoretical value. VSM analysis clarifies soft ferromagnetic nature at room temperature. The equilibrium time for the removal of MB dye was found to be 180 mins. The capacity of nickel ferrite nanoparticles to adsorb the MB dye was proved from its maximum adsorption capacity of 72 mg g-1 from Langmuir model. The Equilibrium parameter (RL) and % error was calculated and found that Langmuir isotherm and Second-order kinetic model gave a good fit to the experimental data. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.