Adsorption of methylene blue by using novel chitosan-g-itaconic acid/bentonite nanocomposite – equilibrium and kinetic study

In this study, novel chitosan-g-itaconic acid/bentonite (CTS-g-IA/BT) and chitosan/bentonite (CTS/BT) nanocomposites were synthesized for adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The process was pH-sensitive and maximum sorption was obtained at pH 6 (CTS-g-IA/BT) and 7 (CTS/BT) in 76 h agitation time using 0.03 g of nanocomposites for 50 mL of MB solution. The results showed that in pH less than 6, the adsorption capacity of CTS-g-IA/BT nanocomposite due to the existence of IA monomer is less than that of CTS/BT nanocomposite. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum of CTS-g-IA/BT revealed that both itaconic acid and BT present in the nanocomposite structure, and also the –OH groups of BT, –NH₂ and –OH of CTS participated in nanocomposite formation. According to the FTIR results, a schematic diagram of the nanocomposite synthesis was presented. The kinetic results indicated that the adsorption of MB fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The equilibrium data followed Langmuir isotherm with the maximum adsorption capacity of 500 and 181.818 mg/g for CTS-g-IA/BT and CTS/BT nanocomposites, respectively. The negative values of Gibbs free energy change (ΔG⁰) and the positive values of ΔH⁰ confirmed that the adsorption process is spontaneous and endothermic. The positive values of ΔS⁰ suggested the randomness of adsorption at interface.