Investigation on the interaction of Safranin T with anionic polyelectrolytes by spectrophotometric method

Understanding the role played by chemical additives such as NaCl salt, acid and Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) surfactant on the interaction between dye and polyelectrolyte contributes to optimization of processes using polyelectrolytes in the removal of dye from aqueous solution. Herein we focus in the interaction between Safranin T, a cationic dye, with two anionic polyelectrolytes, poly(ammonium acrylate) and poly(acrylic acid) using spectrophotometric method and conductivity measurement. In aqueous solution, each of anionic polyelectrolytes forms a complex with the dye and induces a metachromasy indicated by the blue shift of the absorbance of the dye. The stoichiometry of complexes evaluated by the molar ratio method are 1:1 for Safranin T poly(ammonium acrylate) and 2:1 in the case of Safranin T poly(acrylic acid). The effect of additives on the stability of complexes has been studied by varying concentrations of the salt and the surfactant and pH of the solution. The thermodynamic parameters of interaction ΔG, ΔH and ΔS at different temperatures were evaluated to determine the stability constant of the complexes.