Determination of thorium adsorption processes by alpha spectrometry on Co-doped ZnO nano materials; modeling and optimization

With increasing environmental problems, it has increased the focus on waste removal and recovery. The objective of this study was to employ Co-doped ZnO nano-material, synthesized using the gel-ignition method, for thorium (IV) adsorption. The adsorbent structure was characterized subsequently, thorium (IV) adsorption was optimized using the Response Rurface Method (RSM). The optimal combination of parameters was determined using the RSM model, where the R-2 and R-Adj(2) values were 0.9908 and 0.9639, respectively, indicating the theoretical and experimental conditions were in harmony. The experimental adsorption capacity of the Co-doped ZnO nanomaterial was found to be 121.29 mg g(-1) under the specified optimum conditions.