Adsorptive Removal of Rhodamine B Using Novel Adsorbent-Based Surfactant-Modified Alpha Alumina Nanoparticles.

The objective of the present study is to investigate removal of cationic dye, rhodamine B (RhB), in water environment using a high-performance absorbent based on metal oxide nanomaterials toward green chemistry. The adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) onto synthesized alpha alumina (-AlO) material (0) at different ionic strengths under low pH was studied to fabricate a new adsorbent as SDS-modified -AlO material (1). The RhB removal using 1 was much higher than 0 under the same experimental conditions. The optimal conditions for RhB removal using 1 were found to be contact time 30 min, pH 4, and adsorbent dosage 5 mg/mL. The maximum RhB removal using 1 achieved 100%, and adsorption amount reached 52.0 mg/g. Adsorption isotherms of RhB onto 1 were well fitted by the two-step adsorption model. The electrostatic attraction between positive RhB molecules and negatively charged 1 surface controlled the adsorption that was evaluated by the surface charge change with zeta potential and adsorption isotherms. Very high RhB removal of greater than 98% after four regenerations of 1 and the maximum removal for all actual textile wastewater samples demonstrate that SDS-modified nano -AlO is a high-performance and reusable material for RhB removal from wastewater.