title: Organic dye removal from aqueous solutions by hierarchical calcined Ni-Fe layered double hydroxide: Isotherm, kinetic and mechanism studies.
abstract: Hierarchically porous nickel-iron-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) with a Ni2+/Fe3+molar ratio of 3 was successfully synthesised through a simple hydrothermal route. After calcination at 400°C, NiFe-LDH transformed into nickel-iron-layered double oxides (NiFe-LDO). The as-prepared samples were characterised through X-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption. The calcined and uncalcined NiFe-LDH was used as adsorbents to remove Congo red (CR) dye in an aqueous solution. The equilibrium adsorption data of NiFe-LDH and NiFe-LDO samples were well fitted to Langmuir model and were characterised by excellent adsorption capacities of 205 and 330mg/g, respectively. Pseudo-second-order kinetic and intra-particle diffusion models indicated that CR was well adsorbed on the adsorbent. The underlying adsorption mechanism was investigated and observed as anion exchange and reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China. Electronic address: pimengcr@163.com.
authors.forename: Chunsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China.
authors.forename: Panyong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, PR China.
authors.forename: Yingqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, PR China.
authors.forename: Fenge
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Adsorption; Congo red; Hierarchical porous structures; LDH; Mechanism