Removal of Congo red from aqueous solution using a chitosan/organo‐ montmorillonite nanocomposite

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Abstract
To further improve the adsorption capacity of chitosan (CTS), a series of novel chitosan/organo‐montmorillonite nanocomposites (CTS/OMMT) were synthesized and the adsorption abilities for Congo red (CR) investigated in this study. The nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the results indicated that an exfoliated nanostructure was formed in CTS/OMMT nanocomposites. Compared with the adsorption capacity of OMMT (192.4 mg g−1), CTS/OMMT with an amount of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide equal to 0.75 CEC of MMT and molar ratio of CTS to OMMT of 1:10 exhibited the higher adsorption capacity (290.8 mg g−1). The adsorption behaviours of OMMT and CTS/OMMT showed that the adsorption kinetics and isotherms were in good agreement with a pseudo‐second‐order equation and the Langmuir equation, respectively. The IR spectra revealed that a chemical interaction occurred between CTS/OMMT and CR. The adsorption capacity of CTS/OMMT nanocomposite was higher than that of other absorbents; this study suggested that the CTS/OMMT nanocomposite could be used as an adsorbent to remove CR dye from aqueous solution. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

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