Abstract
The accelerated development of new technologies for treating pollutants has led to the emergence of numerous innovative adsorbents. These materials typically possess promising structural and surface properties suitable for a variety of applications. In the same context, the present study prepared a chitosan-based hybrid material incorporating pyromellitic dianhydride and copper oxide nanoparticles (PMDA-Cts-CuO) under ultrasonic wave conditions. It is a newly synthesized material derived from an organically degradable source for lead removal purposes. Following the confirmation of the material's structural and morphological properties, the current research effort focused on examining the PMDA-Cts-CuO for diffusion kinetic models: the intraparticle diffusion model, Boyd's intraparticle diffusion model, Boyd's external diffusion model, and the Avrami model to provide deeper insight into the behavior of the new material and determine its actual feasibility in environmental applications. The adsorption results reported that the diffusion within the pores is an element of the adsorption process, although it is not the determining factor, according to the intraparticle diffusion model. In addition, as the initial concentration of lead rises, the adsorbent's internal resistance weakens, and a stronger driving force is generated for the diffusion of lead ions into its pores. Moreover, mass transfer is frequently catalyzed by the surrounding membrane. Given that the experimental data are consistent with the Boyd external kinetic model, this indicates that adsorption takes place via several interrelated pathways. Avrami's model also provided agreement with the results, indicating that the adsorption process is likely multi-mechanistic.