Porous graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets coated with polyfluorene for removal of Malachite green and Methylene blue dyes and Cu (II) ions

Abstract

Dyes and heavy metal ions are of great interest for environmental studies as they are common pollutants in industrial applications. Therefore, development of innovative adsorbents has received tremendous interest in wastewater treatment studies. In this study, a new hybrid adsorbent (g-C3N4/AFP) was prepared by modifying porous graphitic carbon nitride surface (g-C3N4) with 2-amino fluorene polymer (AFP) and investigated its adsorptive behaviour for removal of representative dyes and heavy metal from aqueous solution. Experimental data obtained from batch tests were analysed using two parameters (Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich) and three parameters (Sips) isotherm models. Langmuir isotherms were the best model to describe the experimental results of Methylene blue (MB) and Malachite green (MG) dye adsorptions, while Freundlich isotherms were the best for Cu (II) ions. Sips isotherm model was found to have the highest regression coefficient (≥0.99) among the two-parameters isotherms studied. The maximum adsorption capacities of g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/AFP were found to be 226.88 and 327.83 for MG, 85.73 and 221.85 for MB and 184.51 and 452.19 mg g−1 for Cu (II), respectively. This increase in adsorption capacity can be explained by the improved textural properties of the new hybrid adsorbent and the presence of multiple functional groups in its structure. A possible adsorption mechanism was suggested using FTIR and pHpzc data.