The layer-by-layer technique (LbL)
is an efficient and sustainable
low-cost methodology for the removal of heavy metal ions from various
matrixes. The present work is focused, for the first time, on the
evaluation of the extraction processes of Ni(II) and Zn(II) by the
LbL technique with respect to the studies of the solvent effect, reaction
kinetics, adsorption isotherm models and thermodynamic parameters.
The extraction of Ni(II) and Zn(II) was based on the design of multilayers
of these metal complexes with 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ) due to the
formation of Ni(8HQ)2 and Zn(8HQ)2 complexes,
respectively. The efficient sorption of metal ions was found to follow
the dissolution order of 8HQ in methanol > ethanol >1-propanol
>1-butanol
> acetonitrile. The surface adsorptive removal processes of Ni(II)
and Zn(II) from aqueous solution were evaluated by four different
kinetics models and were found to be better fit to the pseudo-second-order
model with R
2 corresponding to 0.9891
and 0.9995, respectively. The intraparticle diffusion kinetics model
was employed to confirm thin film production in the form of boundary
layers to account for the removal processes of Ni(II) and Zn(II) from
aqueous solution using the LbL technique as a diffusion-controlled
process. The adsorption of Ni(II) and Zn(II) in the LbL technique
was found to fit better with the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin
adsorption isotherm models. The thermodynamics parameters of Ni(II)
and Zn(II) extraction from aqueous solutions confirmed the spontaneous
and endothermic behavior of the adsorption process.