| Summary: | In the present study, polyaniline was coated on the surface of sisal fibers through in situ oxidative polymerization
which was further characterized using FT‐IR, UV‐Vis, XRD, SEM and EDX instruments. The composite was tested to remove
hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) from simulated wastewater on batch experimentas a function of contact time, solution pH,
particle size, adsorbent dose and adsorbate dose. Peaks in the range of 1480‐1580 cm‐1 from FT‐IR spectra confirmed
polyaniline is rich in amino polyfunctionalities. Another peak at 1160 cm‐1 proved introduction of polyaniline in the doped
state. An EDX spectrum exhibits a characteristic peak of C, N, O and Cl atoms that verify deposition of polyaniline on the
surface of sisal fibers. It was observed that adsorption of Cr(VI) is highly susceptible to pH change with the adsorption
removal of 93.1% achieved at pH 4. Studies on adsorption reaction revealed adsorption process followed pseudo second
orderkinetics confirming chemisorption as a rate determining step. The isotherm data were suitably fitted tothe Langmuir
model with maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 17.86 mg/g when all adsorption variables were optimized.
|
|---|
