Sorption of Acid Dyes onto Silica Modified with Cetyltrimethylammonium Cations

The sorption behavior of acid dyes onto cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)- modified silica as a function of pH in the aqueous medium was studied. Single- and multi-solute sorption equilibria of orange Ⅱ(OR), phenol red (PR) and Eriochrome Black T (EBT) were studied at pH 3, unbuffered water pH and pH 11. Sorption behavior of EBT could not be conducted at pH 3 due to its aggregation in acidic medium. All the reaction conditions, experimental protocols and techniques remained the same throughout the sorption process. Sorption isotherms for single-solute system were fitted by the Langmuir model, while Langmuir competitive model (LCM) and the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) coupled with Langmuir model (IAST/Langmuir) were used for the prediction of multisolute competitive sorption. Sorption affinities influenced by the factors like physical interactive forces between the molecules of CTA on silica and sorbate, structural limitations of the dyes based on their geometrical arrangement were investiga