Abstract
In this study, the charge-transfer complexation between urea as a donor and vacant orbital acceptors (i.e., FeCl3 and NiCl2) was used to generate a NiFe2O4 composite. The resultant composite was used to increase the adsorption capacity of free fullerene carbon nanotubes (CNT) for two organic dyes as example models [toluidine blue (TB) and eosin B (EB)] by combining this CNT with the resultant composite. Fullerenes are a type of carbon nanomaterials which particularly well suited for environmental remediation applications due to their large surface area combined with unique physicochemical properties that render them easily biodegradable and nontoxic. They have great potential for the recovery and removal of dyestuff from water. Crushing the NiFe2O4 composite with fullerene CNTs at a 1:10 M ratio (composite to CNT) in the presence of a few drops of methanol yielded a solid, black, homogenous NiFe2O4-CNT adsorbent material. This environmentally friendly approach enhanced the adsorption efficiency of free fullerene CNT for TB dye by 33% and for EB dye by 25%. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.