Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol.63, No.9, 3206-3214, 2018
Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of a Thiophene-Pyrrole Copolymer As an Efficient Adsorbent for Removal of Methylene Blue
An electrochemically synthesized thiophenepyrrole (Th-Py) copolymer was characterized by various techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrical conductivity, pH point of zero charge (pHPZC), and surface area measurements by the BrunauerEmmettTeller (BET) method were also carried out. The particle size <5 nm and surface area 411.29 m(2)/g were obtained. The copolymer exhibited high adsorption property for the removal of methylene blue (MB). The optimum adsorbent dosage of copolymer was 2.5 g L-1. The equilibrium and kinetic data were best fitted by Langmuir and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, respectively. The value of the thermodynamic parameter, i.e., enthalpy change (Delta H degrees = 1.26 kJ mol(1)) and free energy change (Delta G degrees= -10.21 to -24.91 kJ mol(1)), indicated that the overall adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. Adsorptiondesorption study showed a sharp decrease in adsorption and desorption % in the second cycle. Based on these results, an adsorption mechanism for the removal of MB was also proposed.