Exploration of sorption properties of sonochemically synthesized BaMoO₄ nanoparticles for hazardous cationic dye removal

Abstract

We report the synthesis of barium molybdate (BaMoO₄) nanoparticles via a simple sonochemical technique. The nanoparticles have been characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM. The surface area of the nanoparticles has been determined using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The as-prepared spherical BaMoO₄ nanostructures demonstrate excellent adsorbent properties to remove harmful organic dyes like Rhodamine B (RhB), Malachite green (MG) and Methylene blue (MB). The effect of pH, concentration of dye and loading of sorbent on the process of adsorption has been evaluated. Kinetic study on the adsorption process has been discussed using Langmuir and Freundlich models. Regeneration of the sorbents is easily possible through simple thermal treatment and similar adsorption efficiency upto five consecutive cycles has been demonstrated. The dye adsorbed on BaMoO₄ samples have also been tested for photocatalytic degradation. In principle, these BaMoO₄ nanostructures with higher adsorption abilities could be very promising adsorbents for treatment of cationic dye effluent from various industries.