title: Dye-adsorption capacity of high surface-area hydrogen titanate nanosheets processed via modified hydrothermal method.
abstract: High surface-area (380 m2 x g(-1)) hydrogen titanate nanosheets (HTNS) processed via the modified hydrothermal method have been utilized for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from an aqueous solution via the surface-adsorption process involving the electrostatic attraction mechanism. The HTNS have been characterized using the transmission electron microscope (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface-area measurement techniques. The amount of MB dye adsorbed on the surface of HTNS at equilibrium (q(e)) has been examined as a function of contact time, initial dye-concentration, and initial solution-pH. Within the investigated range of initial solution-pH (2.5-11), the MB dye adsorption on the surface of HTNS has been observed to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetics with the dye-adsorption capacity of 119 mg x g(-1) at the initial solution-pH of - 10. The adsorption equilibrium follows the Langmuir isotherm within the initial solution-pH range of 2.5-10. However, in a highly basic solution (initial solution-pH -11), the adsorption equilibrium has been observed to follow the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Kaganer-Radushkevich (DKR) models in the different ranges of initial MB dye concentration. The mere dependence on the DKR model has not been observed within the investigated range of initial solution-pH. The differences in the dye-adsorption characteristics and capacity of HTNS, compared with those of hydrogen titanate nanotubes, have been attributed to the difference in their specific surface-area. Irrespective of the morphology, the maximum coverage of MB dye on the surface of hydrogen titanate has been noted to be the same (52%).
authors.affiliation: Functional Materials Section (FMS), Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD), National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Industrial Estate PO., Pappanamcode Thiruvananthapuram 695019, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Hareesh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Padinhattayil
authors.forename: Rimesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Augustine
authors.forename: Satyajit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shukla