Effect of pH on the adsorption properties of zinc oxide-cadmium oxide nanoparticles for removal of methyl blue and methyl orange

ZnO-CdO nanocomposite was synthesized by a W/O microemulsion method. Effect of calcination temperature on phase transformations, crystal size and specific surface area of ZnO-CdO nanocomposite were investigated. The synthesized Products were studied by the X-ray diffraction results (XRD), thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (DTA-TG), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurement (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Effect of pH on the removal of methyl blue and acid methyl orange was studied. XRD results showed that ZnO-CdO nanocomposites with crystallite size in nanometer scale were formed. Zinc oxide-cadmium oxide particles synthesized at 400 ˚C had the highest adsorption properties. The results showed that the adsorption of methyl blue and methyl orange on the surface of ZnO-CdO nanoparticles was higher at acidic conditions.