Microwave-assisted synthesis of ceria nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes and their dye-removal assesstment

We report the synthesis of ceria nanoparticles supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes via a microwave-assisted method. The resulting composites were characterized by HRTEM, XRD, TGA and Raman spectroscopy. This method enabled the growth of ceria nanoparticles of similar to 1.4 nm homogeneously distributed on the surface of the carbon nanotubes. The adsorption effectiveness of these materials was evaluated using methylene blue as a model molecule. The produced nanocomposites showed higher dye adsorption capability and removal percentage (62.1 mg/g, 95.3%) than the functionalized carbon nanotubes (37.1 mg/g, 56.7%). The experimental kinetic results were best fitted by the pseudo second-order model. The Langmuir isotherm model exhibited the best fit of the equilibrium adsorption data. Increasing the temperature increased the adsorption capacity of the composite. The ceria/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites show great potential to remove organic dyes from contaminated water. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.