Polyaniline nanofibers as highly effective re-usable adsorbent for removal of reactive black 5 from aqueous solutions

Polyaniline nanofibers (PANI NFs) with 50-80 nm in diameter were successfully prepared at room temperature (22 °C) using ferric chloride (FeCl3) as an oxidant via a simple rapid mixing polymerization method. The prepared PANI NFs were characterized by FE-SEM, HR-TEM, BET, ATR-FTIR and by Zeta potential measurement method. The adsorption of azo dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5) onto PANI NFs from aqueous solutions was investigated. Adsorption studies were carried out at different initial dye concentrations, initial solution pH and adsorbent doses. The kinetic data fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model while the equilibrium data were satisfactorily described by the Langmuir isotherm model. The Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of RB5 at pH 6.0 was found to be 312.5, 389.1 and 434.7 mg/g at 25 °C, 35 °C and 45 °C, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters including the Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°) changes indicated that the adsorption of RB5 onto PANI NFs was feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic. Moreover, desorption experiments revealed that the PANI NFs can be reused effectively for five consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles without any loss of its original capacity.