Efficient Mesoporous MgO/g-C₃N₄ for Heavy Metal Uptake: Modeling Process and Adsorption Mechanism

Removing toxic metal ions arising from contaminated wastewaters caused by industrial effluents with a cost-effective method tackles a serious concern worldwide. The adsorption process onto metal oxide and carbon-based materials offers one of the most efficient technologies adopted for metal ion removal. In this study, mesoporous MgO/g-C₃N₄ sorbent is fabricated by ultrasonication method for the uptake Pb (II) and Cd (II) heavy metal ions from an aqueous solution. The optimum conditions for maximum uptake: initial concentration of metal ions 250 mg g^-1, pH = 5 and pH = 3 for Pb⁺⁺ and Cd⁺⁺, and a 60 mg dose of adsorbent. In less than 50 min, the equilibrium is reached with a good adsorption capacity of 114 and 90 mg g^-1 corresponding to Pb⁺⁺ and Cd⁺⁺, respectively. Moreover, the adsorption isotherm models fit well with the Langmuir isotherm, while the kinetics model fitting study manifest a perfect fit with the pseudo-second order. The as fabricated mesoporous MgO/g-C₃N₄ sorbent exhibit excellent Pb⁺⁺ and Cd⁺⁺ ions uptake and can be utilized as a potential adsorbent in wastewater purification.