A Biocompatible, pH-Sensitive, and Magnetically Separable Superparamagnetic Hydrogel Nanocomposite as an Efficient Platform for the Removal of Cationic Dyes in Wastewater Treatment

[Image: see text] A series of environment-friendly cationic dye adsorbents, namely, pH-sensitive superparamagnetic hydrogel nanocomposite AA-VSA-P/SPIONs systems with different concentrations of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs; 1.2, 3.2, and 5.2 wt %), was synthesized by free-radical polymerization reaction using two pH-sensitive monomers, acrylic acid (AA) and vinylsulfonic acid (VSA), in an optimum ratio, in the presence of presynthesized SPIONs. The structural properties, thermal stability, and chemical configuration of AA-VSA-P/SPIONs systems with different weight percentages of SPIONs were characterized by XRD, TGA, Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. The systems show substantial efficiency as dye adsorbents for removing cationic dyes (MB dye) from aqueous solution in neutral to alkaline medium. Further, these systems exhibit easy magnetic separation capabilities from aqueous solutions after dye adsorption, even for a very low weight percentage of SPIONs. The adsorption kinetics, mechanism, and isotherms of these systems were evaluated. The study suggests consistency with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, following an intraparticle diffusion mechanism, where the heterogeneous surface of the system having different activation energies for adsorption plays the crucial role in dye adsorption via chemisorption for higher pH medium, which was further substantiated by excellent data fit with the Freundlich isotherm model. Biocompatibility and regeneration-ability studies establish the environment-friendliness and cost effectivity of the system.