Adsorption of Crystal Violet Dye from Aqueous Solution by Poly(Acrylamide-co-Maleic Acid)/Montmorillonite Nanocomposite

Abstract

Poly(acrylamide-co-maleic acid)/montmorillonite nanocomposites, were synthesized via in situ polymerization with different maleic acid and MMT content. The capability of the hydrogel for adsorption of crystal violet (CV) was investigated in aqueous solutions at different pH values and temperatures. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model could fit successfully the adsorption kinetic data. The effects of maleic acid to acrylamide molar ratio (MAR), weight percent of MMT (MMT%), the pH of medium and the solution temperature (T) on the CV adsorption capacity (qe) of adsorbents were studied by Taguchi experimental design approach. The results indicated that increasing the MMT% leads to a greater qe. The qe value of adsorbents increased also with increasing both MAR and pH, while reduced when the temperature of medium increased. The relatively optimum conditions to achieve a maximum CV adsorption capacity for P(AAm/MA)/MMT adsorbents were found as: 0.06 for MAR and 5 % of MMT%, medium pH = 7 and T = 20 °C. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.