Abstract
Herein, we report the synthesis, characterization and nanoadsorbent application of surfactant and ionic liquid functionalized ZnO nanoparticles prepared by microwave based synthetic method. The synthesized material was characterized in detail which revealed that the nanoparticles are well-crystalline, exhibiting superior optical properties with good adsorption tendency. The surface modified nanoparticles were used as nanoadsorbent for the removal of harmful dyes from waste water. Interestingly, it was observed that after functionalizing with ionic liquid and surfactants, the prepared nanoparticles exhibited better control over the size and shape and possesses improved adsorption ability towards anionic azo dye (BBR-250) as compared to bare ZnO nanoparticles. The kinetics as well as adsorption isotherm was also employed for getting essential information regarding the absorption efficiencies of the ZnO nanoparticles towards BBR-250. The absorption ability of ZnO nanoparticles has further checked in spiked water samples from different sources. The recovery, utility in real samples and reusability of the adsorbent and adsorbate has made the treatment more economical and applicable for industrial applications.(C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.