Separations of toxic metal ions using a novel polymeric composite: Synthesis, characterizations, kinetics, isotherm models and thermal degradation studies

ABSTRACTA composite material was prepared using terpolymer and activated charcoal. The material was spectrally characterized, and the morphology and thermal stability were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. From the metal ion sorption results, it was found that the composite material had significantly removed the selected metal ions from the aqueous solution. This may be due to the highly porous nature and the larger specific surface area of the composite. The results were well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm and follow the first-order kinetics. The thermal degradation kinetics and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated from thermogravimetric data and reported.