Ecofriendly synthesis of selenium nanoparticles using agricultural Citrus fortunella waste and decolourization of crystal violet from aqueous solution

Abstract

In this study, the reuse of Citrus fortunella (CF) plant waste, an agricultural product, was evaluated within the scope of sustainability. In this context, selenium nanoparticles (CF-Se NPs) were synthesized from CF waste extracts and crystal violet (CV) dye was removed. The characteristic structure of the synthesized CF-Se NPs was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–vis spectroscopy, and point of zero charge (pHpzc). Batch adsorption tests were applied to determine the effect of the synthesized CF-Se NPs on CV removal. Four different kinetic and isotherm models were examined using error analysis functions. While the particle size of CF-Se NPs was determined as 27.58 nm, the pHpzc value was calculated as 9.40, the average surface charge distribution was −24.1 mV, and mass losses were 9.03% and 13.42% at 334.99 and 739.21°C, respectively. The most suitable kinetic and isotherm model for CV removal with CF-Se NPs was determined to be pseudo-second-order with a R2-value of 0.999 and Freundlich with R2-value of 0.993, and the qmax was calculated as 23.55 mgCV/gCF-SeNPs. The effectiveness of CF-Se NPs synthesized from waste in CV removal is a remarkable issue in terms of sustainable production.