Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline/zeolite nanocomposite for the removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solution

Abstract The synthesis, characterization and capacity studies of ion exchange resin capable of coordinating with metal ion are reported. Zeolite was modified with conducting polyaniline by the polymerization of anilinium cation in and out side of zeolite channels and a nanocomposite of polyaniline/zeolite (PANI/zeolite) was obtained by the oxidative polymerization of anilinium cation with the zeolite structure. The product was characterized by UV–visible, FTIR, 1 H NMR, XRD, SEM and TGA techniques. From FTIR studies it was obtained that the composite has a high content of PANI. SEM pictures in the present study show that the diameter of the PANI/zeolite nanocomposite is between 300 and 600 nm. Batch adsorption experiments were used to investigate the effect of various experimental parameters on the equilibrium adsorption of chromium(VI) on PANI/zeolite nanocomposite. The adsorption characteristics of the composite toward Cr(VI) in dilute aqueous solution were followed spectrophotometrically. The effect of contact time, size of the sorbent and the concentration of Cr(VI) in solution on the metal uptake behavior of the composite were studied. It has been observed that the capacity of chromium adsorption on PANI/zeolite increases with initial metal concentration, the metal ion adsorption on surfactant is well represented by the Freundlich isotherm.