In this work, a green,
novel, fast, and facile approach for synthesizing
a SiO2/C nanocomposite series from rice husk (RH) through
quenching and grinding techniques has been reported along with its
application for the adsorptive removal of Reactive Red 120 (RR120)
dye from an aqueous solution. The effect of carbonization temperature
on the textural and interfacial features of RH was confirmed by scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), while the structure and elemental composition
of the as-synthesized RH were investigated via XRD, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
(BET), FT-IR, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The
RH had a high surface area (521.35 m2 g–1), large micropores, mesopores, and total pore volumes of 0.5059,
3.9931, and 5.2196 cm3 g–1, while SiO2 and C were the two major components. In the batch adsorption
test, the effects of pH, contact time, adsorbent mass, temperature,
and initial RR120 concentration were investigated. The maximum adsorption
capacity was fitted by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Dubinin–Radushkevich
(D–R), Hasley, Harkins–Jura, and BET isotherm models,
and Langmuir was the best-fitted model. In addition, the pseudo-first-order,
pseudo-second-order, intraparticle diffusion, and Elovich chemisorption
models were used to explain the adsorption kinetics. Additionally,
the values of Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy thermodynamics
suggested that the RR120 adsorption phenomenon by RH8-3 was endothermic
and spontaneous. The adsorption process was controlled by a physical
mechanism, and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 151.52
mg g–1 at pH 2, with a contact time of 90 min, adsorbent
amount of 0.03 g, and temperature of 313 K. The adopted technique
may open up a new alternative route for the mass utilization of RH
for the removal of dyes in water and wastewater and also for various
practical applications.