α-MoO3/polyaniline composite for effective scavenging of Rhodamine B, Congo red and textile dye effluent

Abstract

Polyaniline modified MoO₃ composites were synthesized via a chemical oxidative polymerization method and employed as a novel adsorbent for Rhodamine B (RhB), Congo red (CR) and textile dye effluent. In this preparation, camphor-10-sulphonic acid was used as a dopant and ammonium peroxydisulphate was used as an oxidant for the fabrication of polyaniline. The MoO₃/polyaniline composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The results confirm the successful formation of the MoO₃/polyaniline composite. The surface morphology of the samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The obtained images show the formation of polyaniline-coated MoO₃. The adsorption performance of the prepared composites towards RhB and CR was analyzed. The effect of pH on adsorptive removal was investigated. The adsorption isotherm studies were carried out and the results showed that the equilibrium data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm equation. The MoO₃/polyaniline (aniline, 30% w/w) composite shows better scavenging performance with maximum adsorption capacity of 36.36 mg g⁻¹ and 76.22 mg g⁻¹ on RhB and CR dyes from water. In addition, the adsorptive performance on real textile effluent was also tested. The results show that the MoO₃/polyaniline composite can be used as a cost-effective alternative adsorbent for the removal of organic pollutants from waste water.