Deliberated system of ternary core–shell polythiophene/ZnO/MWCNTs and polythiophene/ZnO/ox-MWCNTs nanocomposites for brilliant green dye removal from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Abstract In recent times, great attention has been given to developing extremely competent adsorbents for removing organic dyes from wastewater. Thus, to enhance their adsorption capability, a general strategy based on adsorbent surface modification with polymers has been proposed. This report demonstrates the potential of a ternary mixture of polythiophene/zinc oxide/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PTh/ZnO/MWCNTs) and tertiary PTh/ZnO/oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (ox-MWCNTs), which have been incorporated via an in-situ method of chemical polymerization through a simplistic two-way method. SEM and EDX outcomes show that ZnO and MWCNTs, or ox-MWCNTs, are well covered with PTh. Raman, FTIR, and XRD demonstrated the effective synthesis of PTh/ZnO/ox-MWCNTs and PTh/ZnO/MWCNTs nanocomposites with good interfacial interactions between the components. This report also examined the potential of these nanocomposites to remove brilliant green (B.G.) (a toxic dye) from a water solution. In addition, the influence of adsorption parameters, such as concentration, adsorption temperature, pH, and stirring time, was evaluated. B.G.’s adsorption percentage was affected by concentration, temperature, and time. B.G.’s maximum adsorption potential was 9.1 mg g −1 for PTh/ZnO/ox-MWCNTs and 8.3 mg g −1 for PTh/ZnO/MWCNTs, demonstrating the nanocomposites’ (NCs) potential for effective B.G. adsorption. The outcomes of the dye removal show that the dye removal process was spontaneous and endothermic, as evaluated by thermodynamic and kinetic criteria. Graphical Abstract