Adsorption of a textile dye from aqueous solutions by carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Multi-walled and single-walled carbon nanotubes were used as adsorbents for the removal of Reactive Blue 4 textile dye from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents were characterised using Raman spectroscopy, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The effects of pH, agitation time and temperature on adsorption capacity were studied. In the acidic pH region, the adsorption of the dye was favourable using both adsorbents. The contact time to obtain equilibrium isotherms at 298-323 K was fixed at 4 hours for both adsorbents. For Reactive Blue 4 dye, Liu isotherm model gave the best fit for the equilibrium data. The maximum sorption capacity for adsorption of the dye occurred at 323 K, attaining values of 502.5 and 567.7 mg g-1 for MWCNT and SWCNT, respectively.