The present study was carried out using a nanobiocomposite hydrogel (NBC) modified by triethylene tetra amine (TETA-NBC) and β-cyclodextrin (CD-NBC) as an adsorbent for the removal of Ni(II) ions from aqueous environments. Experiments on optimization of parameters viz., pH, contact time, temperature, initial Ni(II) concentration and adsorbent dosage were conducted in a batch scale. Under optimized conditions maximum Ni(II) removal was noted as 99.34% and 87.43% in the case of TETA-NBC and CD-NBC respectively. Mode of adsorption was evaluated using equilibrium and kinetic studies. Equilibrium studies suggested a homogeneous mode of Ni(II) adsorption. Better applicability of pseudo-first order kinetic model suggested physisorption as the underlying phenomena. Thermodynamic studies showed that adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The mechanism of adsorption by TETA-NBC and CD-NBC was elucidated using FT-IR, SEM and EDX analyses.
