Abstract
This research aims to treat wastewater that has been contaminated with one of the most prevalent toxic heavy metals, Cu
2+
. The thermal pyrolysis process was used to manufacture MgO nanoparticles. Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD). The production of MgO nanoparticles was validated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) tests revealed spherical particles at the nanoscale (50 nm), with a BET surface area of 67 m
2
. g
−1
. The Cu
2+
adsorption process was fast and well represented by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir models. With a regression coefficient of 0.9960, the Langmuir pattern achieved the highest adsorption capability of Cu
2+
: 546.45 mg/g. The MgO nanoparticles generated for Cu
2+
uptake are promising and could be used to eradicate other poisonous heavy metals in the aquatic media.