Dyeing wastewater in various industries poses a great threat to the environment. Montmorillonite (MT) is widely used in wastewater treatment because of its abundant reserves and strong exchange capacity. However, natural MT has low affinity for organic pollutants and needs to be organically modified. In order to improve the adsorption capacity of MT to cationic dyes [Congo red (CR)], using ionic liquid [1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C16MImCl)] as organic modifier, the optimal preparation process of C16MImCl/MT was determined by response surface methodology. The C16MImCl/MT was comprehensively characterized by utilizing the techniques of XRD, FTIR, TG, BET, SEM, and molecular dynamics simulation. All the research results showed that C16MImCl is successfully inserted into the layers of MT, and the basal interplanar spacing and average pore size of MT are obviously increased. The C16MImCl/MT is a mesoporous material, which shows strong adsorption capacity for CR, and its CR unit adsorption capacity (CRUAC) could reach 940.200 mg/g, which is about three times that of magnetic graphene oxide and bentonite/expanded graphite.
Keywords: Adsorption; Congo red; Ionic liquid; Molecular simulation; Montmorillonite; Response surface.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.