Synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles for the efficient removal of fluoride from an aqueous solution.

Fluoride contamination in groundwater may pose serious health issues. Among all the technologies, adsorption is considered to be highly efficient and is widely used for remediation in environment. In the present study, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO) were synthesized by chemical precipitation method and used as adsorbent. The study intends to examine copper oxide nanoparticles behaviour when fluoride ions are present in an aqueous solution. The batch mode experiment demonstrated a substantial ability of the copper oxide nanoparticles for adsorption of fluoride with an adsorption capacity of 69.9 mg/g at a pH of 6, temp 298 K and adsorbent dose of 0.5 g/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]