A kinetic study for the removal of anionic sulphonated dye from aqueous solution using nano-polyaniline and Baker's yeast

In this study, a method for the removal of anionic sulphonated Acid Red 14 (AR) dye from aqueous solution using the chemical interaction of dye molecules with nano-polyaniline is reported. Nano-polyaniline (PANI) was synthesized by chemical oxidation in presence of different surfactants. The experimental observations from UV/Vis spectroscopy, rule out the possibility of secondary doping of polyaniline salt by AR14 molecules. A possible mechanism for the chemical interaction between the polymer and dye molecules is proposed. In order to get a better comparison, adsorption experiments were also carried out using Baker's yeast (BY) individually and in mixture with nano-PANI. Kinetic parameters for the adsorption of AR dye on the selected adsorbents are also reported. It was found that application of BY with PANI for the removal of anionic sulphonated dyes such as AR dye from aqueous solution is very promising. (C) 2012 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.