Polyaniline-Coated Filter Papers: Cost Effective Hybrid Materials for Adsorption of Dyes

In this study, polyaniline-coated filter papers PANI (ES)-FP and PANI (EB)-FP have been synthesized by chemical oxidation polymerization. This is a cost-effective and simple method of preparing PANI film on an inexpensive filter paper. The PANI coated filter papers were characterized by UV–vis, IR, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. These composite materials have been effectively used for adsorption of seven different dyes from aqueous medium. It has been observed that these are good materials for anionic and cationic dye adsorption. Detailed equilibrium and kinetic studies have been reported here by taking Eosin yellow and Methylene blue as anionic and cationic model dyes. The experimental data for Eosin yellow and Methylene blue adsorption were best fitted in Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models, respectively. The Langmuir adsorption capacity of Eosin yellow and Methylene blue on PANI (ES)-FP and PANI (EB)-FP were 4.3 and 1.3 mg g–1, respectively, at neutral pH. Adsorption of both dyes follows second order kinetic model.