Effective removal of heavy metal ions using Mn2O3 doped polyaniline nanocomposite.

Mn2O3 doped Poly Aniline (MPANI) nanocomposite was prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization. Characterization of the MPANI nanocomposite was carried out using Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX). SEM image showed that the MPANI nanocomposite shows agglomerated sponge of 200-500 nm in length. XRD data revealed that the doping of Mn2O3 onto polymer surface which was confirmed due to the decrease in crystalline nature. The MPANI nanocomposite was used as an efficient adsorbent for removal Pb(II), Ni(II), and Cd(II) ions in aqueous media. Batch experiments show maximum adsorption capacity for MPANI nanocomposite on Pb(II) (437 mg/g), Ni(II) (494 mg/g), and Cd(II) (480 mg/g). The metal ions adsorption on MPANI nanocomposite is a fast process and the kinetics followed a pseudo second order rate equation (R2 approximately 0.99).