Calixarene-Based Functional Fabric for Simultaneously Adsorptive Removal of Anionic and Cationic Dyes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry
• Adsorption Science

Background:

• Wastewater contamination by anionic and cationic dyes poses significant environmental challenges.
• Development of efficient and selective adsorbents is crucial for dye removal.
• Calixarene-based materials offer unique properties for molecular recognition and adsorption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the adsorptive properties of dimethylaminomethyl calix[4]arene-functionalized fabric (DCF) for removing methyl orange (MO) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes.
• To explore the adsorption mechanisms and performance of DCF in aqueous media and real wastewater.

Main Methods:

• Fabric functionalization with dimethylaminomethyl calix[4]arene (DMAM-Calix).
• Adsorption studies using a filtration system packed with DCF.
• Analysis of adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and interactions in binary dye mixtures and real wastewater.

Main Results:

• DCF demonstrated effective removal of both anionic MO and cationic RhB dyes, even in binary mixtures.
• Adsorption mechanisms involved hydrogen bonding, π-π, cation-π, n-π, and electrostatic interactions.
• Adsorption capacities were 4.7 mg/g for MO and 1.0 mg/g for RhB at pH 6.0; Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetics best described MO adsorption.

Conclusions:

• DMAM-Calix-functionalized fabric (DCF) is a promising, cost-effective adsorbent for removing anionic and cationic dyes from wastewater.
• The material exhibits good selectivity and efficiency, particularly for RhB, in real water samples.
• This study highlights the potential of calixarene-derived coated fabrics for environmental remediation applications.