Ultrasonication synthesis of PVA/PVP/α-MnO2-stearic acid blend nanocomposites for adsorbing Cd II ion

Abstract

In this research, the functionalization of α-MnO₂ nanorods (NRs) was conducted with stearic acid (SA) through solvothermal technique. The α-MnO₂-SA NRs were used as nanofiller for the preparation of blend nanocomposites (NCs) based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) by ultrasonic irradiation. The results exhibit that with increasing in α-MnO₂-SA quantity, the thermal stability of blend NCs was improved. Morphological studies revealed that α-MnO₂-SA with rod structure and a diameter size of 25–80 nm was uniformly dispersed in the PVA and PVP matrices. The use of ultrasonic was responsible for these great homogeneities which could not be achieved by mechanical or magnetically stirring. The prepared blend NCs were exploited as an adsorbing for uptake of Cd^II ion from the aqueous system. The results indicated that they can be potentially utilized for the elimination of Cd^II ion from an aqueous system with q_m of 47 (mg g⁻¹).