Surface Modified Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes: Preparation and Binary System Dye Removal

Abstract

Surface modification of multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was studied in this paper. The surface modified CNT (CNT-SDS) was used to remove dyes from single and binary systems. The surface characteristics of CNT-SDS were investigated using Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Basic Blue 41 (BB41) and Basic Red 18 (BR18) were used as model dyes. The kinetic of dye removal from single and binary systems using CNT-SDS was studied. The kinetic of dye adsorption onto CNT-SDS followed pseudo-second order model for both systems. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to experimental data of single systems and the isotherm constants were calculated. The adsorption capacities of CNT and CNT-SDS for BB41 and BR18 were 90 and 80, 185 and 135 mg/g, respectively. The results showed that the CNTSDS as an adsorbent with high dye adsorption capacity might be a suitable alternative to remove dyes from colored wastewater.