Synthesis, characterization, and assessment of cationic and anionic dye adsorption performance of functionalized silica immobilized chitosan bio-polymer.

The functionalization of polymers is still an efficient scheme to provide materials with new properties. In this paper, 4-methyl-2-(naphthalen-2-yl)-N-propylpentanamide-functionalized ethoxy-silica was successfully immobilized onto chitosan bio-polymer spherical beads to improve their adsorption characteristics. The interaction between the polymer and the functionalized silica was analyzed using FT-IR spectroscopy and SEM analysis. FT-IR investigation suggested that the interaction between chitosan and functionalized silica occurred through hydrogen bonding. The morphology of the prepared composite gel beads exhibited a spherical shape surface covered by silica particles. The unfunctionalized and functionalized beads were studied for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) and Acid blue 25 (AB25) from water. The influence of pH, time, dye concentration, and temperature on the adsorption characteristics was investigated. The results showed that the highest adsorption amount of dyes was reached using the functionalized chitosan beads under the following conditions; pH = 5 for AB25 and pH = 6 for MB, time = 120 min, and T = 20 °C. The adsorbed yield of MB using the composite beads increased three times more than the capacity of chitosan beads and it was improved 1.4 times in the case of AB25. The mean free energy values (74.53-223.61 kJ mol-1), computed from the Dubinin-Radushkevich model suggested the chemi-sorption nature of the adsorption phenomenon.