Adsorptive removal of dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) using novel nanoparticles based on cationic surfactant-coated titania nanoparticles

A novel nanomaterial based on cationic surfactant-coated TiO2 nanoparticle (CCTN) was systematically fabricated in this work. Synthesized titania nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized by XRD, FT-IR, HR-TEM, TEM-EDX, SEM with EDX mapping, BET, and zeta potential measurements. The adsorption of cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), on TiO2 was studied under various pH and ionic strength conditions. Adsorption of CTAB on TiO2 increased with ionic strength increment in the presence of hemimicelle monolayer structure, indicating that nonelectrostatic and electrostatic forces control CTAB uptake. CTAB adsorption isotherms on TiO2 were according to a two-step model. Potential application in pesticide removal of 2,4-dichorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) using CCTN was also studied. Optimum parameters for 2,4-D treatment through adsorption technique were pH 5, adsorption time of 120 min, and CCTN dosage of 10 mg center dot mL(-1). Very low 2,4-D removal efficiency using TiO2 without CTAB coating was found to be approximately 28.5% whereas the removal efficiency was up to about 90% by using CCTN under optimum conditions, and the maximum adsorption capacity of 12.79 mg center dot g(-1) was found. Adsorption isotherms of 2,4-D on CCTN were more suitable with the Langmuir model than Freundlich. Adsorption mechanisms of 2,4-D on CCTN were mainly governed by Columbic attraction based on isotherms and surface charge changes.