Stable and microcrystalline Ce-Fe Bi-metal oxide nano particles: Synthesis, characterization and fluoride adsorption performance in drinking water

The cerium-iron bi-metal oxide nano particles have been prepared as an adsorbent for the removal of fluoride from drinking water. The incorporated cerium ion into iron oxide is characterized using transition electron micrograph (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and morphologically observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area analyzer (BET). The effects of various factors such as solution pH, adsorbent dosage, equilibration time, initial fluoride ion concentration, water solubility and zero point charge have been investigated. The results show that the adsorbent removed about 98% of fluoride from drinking water at both acid and basic pH range, and the nano particles have extremely small size, high surface area, greater stability and microcrystalline nature. The experimental results suggest that this nano-adsorbent is promising for treating fluoride contaminated water.