Synthesis of MoO3 Nanostructures by Solid State Reaction Method for Selective Adsorption of Cationic Dyes

The ecosystem and living things are severely hampered by the water pollution caused by organic compounds containing dyes and pigments. The cost-effective removal of organic dyes has therefore attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Herein, we report the removal of textile dyes from water via effective adsorption by nanostructured MoO₃ material. The MoO₃ have been synthesized via the solid state reaction method. The adaptation to multi-phases at effectively high temperatures and solvent-free conditions, as well as their scalability and simplicity, offers a lot of potential for this method. Powdered X-ray diffraction technique (PXRD) confirms the formation of pure-orthorhombic phase of MoO₃ (o-MoO₃). Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) micrographs reveals the formation of stacking layer structure of MoO₃. The surface charge and surface area has been investigated by using Zeta potential and BET-BJH technique. The adsorption capacity of MoO₃ has been investigated for two common dyes: Methylene Blue (MB), and Methyl Orange (MO). The adsorption studies show that the material effectively and quickly adsorbs MB dye with adsorption capacity (759.3 mg/g), which is attributed to strong electrostatic interaction of O-ions of MoO₃ with MB dye. Further, isotherm and kinetic studies suggest that adsorption follows Langmuir and Pseudo-second-order kinetics model respectively.