Citric, succinic, and vanillic acid-functionalized magnetic-cored dendrimer for methylene blue adsorption

Abstract

A new functional composite was synthesized in this study comprising magnetic-cored dendrimer (MCD) modified with citric acid (CA), succinic acid (SA), and vanillic acid (VA) terminal groups. The CA-MCD, SA-MCD, and VA-MCD exhibited average particle size of 8–18 nm and superparamagnetic behavior. Adsorption potential of the composite was assessed by monitoring methylene blue (MB) removal from contaminated water. The CA-MCD attained adsorption equilibrium in 30 min while SA-MCD and VA-MCD achieved equilibrium in 60 min. The Langmuir model better fitted the adsorption results than the Freundlich model, indicating a monolayer mode of MB adsorption on the composite. Maximum adsorption capacity of CA-MCD, SA-MCD, and VA-MCD was 216.30 mg/g, 184.29 mg/g, and 196.58 mg/g, respectively. The CA-MCD exhibited best adsorption performance by removing 99% MB at pH = 11. In reusability experiments, the CA-MCD, SA-MCD, and VA-MCD maintained over 90% MB adsorption for both 15 mg/L and 50 mg/L solutions in the third cycle. Overall, the organic acid–functionalized MCDs with high adsorption capacity and reusability potential showed utility for practical application for wastewater decontamination.

Keywords:

• Organic acid
• magnetite
• dendrimer
• nanocomposite
• adsorption

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) through The Technology development project to secure the health of aquatic ecosystems, funded by the Ministry of Environment in Korea (No. 2021003040004).