Sulphonated poly (Glycidyl Methacrylate-co-Styrene)-based adsorbents for the removal of Methylene Blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions

Abstract

In this work, sulphonated Poly(Glycidyl Methacrylate- co -Styrene) [SP(GMA-co-ST)] copolymers were developed as a novel adsorbent for water treatment applications through the removing methylene blue (MB) dye from its aqueous solution. The synthesized copolymers were obtained by the free radical polymerization mechanism using different ratios of (GMA) and (ST) monomers, which were then functionalized by sulfonation using sodium sulfite in alcoholic solution. FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, XRD, and TGA were used to characterize the developed copolymers and their sulfonated forms. The influence of different parameters such as adsorbent dose, effect of temperature, contact time, dye concentration, and pH range on the adsorption of methylene blue have been studied. At 70 mg/100 ml of adsorbent, ambient temperature, and neutral medium, the highest dye clearance efficiency of 97.50 % was attained. It only took about 90 min to reach this maximum efficiency for the sulfonated copolymer [SP(GMA-co-ST) 2:1]. Studying the adsorption kinetics and adsorption showed that the adsorption process was well described by the pseudo-second-order and the Langmuir model (R 2 = 0.9413), and the maximum adsorption capacity (q m ) was 635.72 mg/g. Additionally, the reusability study revealed that the developed adsorbents could be used again for five consecutive cycles of adsorption and desorption. • Methylene blue saturated wastewater poses serious harm to human health and environmental ecology. • Sulphonated Poly (Glycidyl Methacrylate- co -Styrene)-copolymers were successfully applied as adsorbent for selective removal of MB from its aqueous solution. • The maximum methylene blue removal of 97.50 % highlights the effectiveness of the developed copolymers as adsorbent materials. • The adsorption process data follows both a Langmuir isotherm and a pseudo-second order kinetic model.