Tunable adsorption activity of candle soot nanoparticles depending on the flame height* *The maximum adsorption capacity for IFP and OFP as predicted by the Langmuir isotherm showed OFP is better adsorbent than that of IFP.

Abstract

The candle soot particles were collected from the inner and outer regions of the candle flame and their dye adsorption capacities were compared. The surface area of inner flame particles (IFP) and outer flame particles (OFP) was recorded as 48 and 88 m2 g−1, respectively. The coatings of OFP and IFP were found hydrophobic and hydrophilic, respectively. The adsorptive removal of Methylene blue (MB) (conc. 50 mg l−1) was ∼40% higher with OFP than that of IFP. Similarly, significantly higher adsorption was recorded during the adsorption of ciprofloxacin and detergent for OFP than that of IFP. The pseudo-second-order model is found most suitable to explain the kinetic data of adsorption.