Utilization of carbon nanotubes for the removal of rhodamine B dye from aqueous solutions

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are attracting increasing research interest as promising adsorbents for harmful cations, anions, and other organic and inorganic impurities present in natural sources of water. This study examined the feasibility of removing Rhodamine B dye from aqueous solutions using multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The effects of dye concentration, pH and contact time on adsorption of direct dye by CNTs were also evaluated. The study used the Langmuir and Temkin isotherms to describe equilibrium adsorption. Additionally, pseudo second-order model was adopted to evaluate experimental data and thereby elucidate the kinetic adsorption process. The adsorption percentage of dye increased as contact time increased. Conversely, the adsorption percentage of dye decreased as dye concentration increased. The pseudo second-order model best represented adsorption kinetics. The capacity of CNTs to adsorb Rhodamine B was 65-90% at different pH values.