Adsorptive Removal of Reactive Blue 25 and Reactive Blue 49 Dyes from Aquatic Solutions Using Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

In this work, Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) were utilized as a potential adsorbent for the adsorption of Reactive Blue 25 (RB25) and Reactive Blue 49 (RB49) dyes from aqueous solutions. ZnONPs adsorbent was synthesized by precipitation method and characterized using XRD, TEM, SEM, and N2 adsorption /desorption techniques. The effect of various parameters including solution pH, shaking time, adsorbent amount and initial concentration of the dyes on the adsorption efficiency was studied. The experimental adsorption data analyzed with various kinetic and isothermal methods. The adsorption kinetic study revealed that the adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Additionally, adsorption isotherm studies indicated that adsorption equilibrium data were well fitted to Langmuir model and accordingly, the maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for RB25 and RB49 found to be 34.36 and 34.60 (mg/g), respectively. From this study, ZnONPs is suggested as an effectual adsorbent for the removal of dyes from aqueous samples.