LAUSR

Abstract Discharge of heavy metals without proper treatment of the industrial wastewater and resulted damages to the aquatic ecosystems and human health. In the present study, a magnetic adsorbent containing carboxylic acid and amino functional groups was fabricated using ethylenediaminediacetic (EDDA) acid, glutaraldehyde and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles. The structure and composition of the fabricated nanocomposite (EG@ CuFe2O4) was analyzed by FTIR, TGA, XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, XPS etc, and employ for the removal of Hg(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous medium. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm model was used for further characterization of the adsorption process for the metal ions, and support the pseudo- second order kinetics and Langmuir model. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔGo 0) support, spontaneous and endothermic adsorption. All these results revealed that the as fabricated magnetic EG@ CuFe2O4 nanocomposite can be used as an eco-friendly, proficient and cheap adsorbent for the adsorption of heavy metals form aqueous solution.