Facile Synthesis and Characterization of Manganese Ferrite Nanoparticles for the Successful Removal of Safranine T Dye from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

Safranine T dye causes health problems such as skin and respiratory irritations. Hence, the safranine T dye was efficiently removed from aqueous media employing a simply synthesized manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) nanoadsorbent. The synthesis of manganese ferrite nanoparticles was carried out by the pechini sol–gel approach using tartaric acid to serve as a chelating agent in addition to 1,2-propanediol to serve as a crosslinker. The TEM analysis showed that the shape of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles is semi-spherical, with an average particle size of 19.32 nm that coincides well with that measured from the XRD (18.89 nm). Further, the several factors that influenced the removal process of safranine T dye were examined, such as time, dye concentration, pH, and temperature. The ideal experimental conditions that achieved the highest safranine T dye removal percentage are pH 8, 80 min, and 298 K. The maximum adsorption capacity of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles towards safranine T dye equals 334.45 mg/g. The removal process of safranine T dye by manganese ferrite nanoparticles was chemical, exothermic, and well defined through the Langmuir equilibrium sorption isotherm in addition to the pseudo-second-order model. The synthesized manganese ferrite nanoparticles have the ability to be reused many times without losing their efficiency.