Enhanced toxic thallium (I) removal from water using novel AgNPs/sawdust nanocomposite

Abstract

Thallium is a very toxic metal even at very low concentration. This work is synthesis of a new sorbent by using extract of Buxus leaf and incorporation sawdust. The Silver nanoparticles/sawdust (AgNPs/SD) nanocomposite was prepared and applied for removal of toxic thallium. The new sorbent was confirmed by UV-Vis, SEM, XRD, FTIR, and TEM. Adsorption of Tl(I) was studied with varying conditions such as pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature, Tl concentration, etc. The maximum removal of Tl⁺ was at pH = 7.5 and time 60 min. The desorption maximum was 99.69% using 0.1 M H₂SO₄ and adsorption was endothermic. The results indicated that the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation can better describe the adsorption kinetics. The experimental data showed good fit to the Freundlich isotherm. The novel sorbent proved the great potential in toxic Tl(I) removal from water.

Keywords:

• AgNPs/SD
• nanocomposite
• removal
• Thallium (I)
• Buxus leaf

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Payame Noor University of Kerman for providing research fellowships.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts to declare. The authors report no conflicts of interest. Also, the authors are responsible for the writing and content of this article.