Spectroscopic Study of Sorption of Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds on Phyllosilicates

The present study focused on understanding the sorption characteristics of acridine (AcN) and acridine-9-carboxylic acid (AcNCOOH), two typical nitrogen heterocyclic compounds (NHCs), on well-characterized phyllosilicates (hectorite, saponite, and muscovite). Results presented in this article show that the degree of sorption of NHCs on phyllosilicates was dependent on the nature of the participating sorbates and sorbents. Sorption of the selected NHCs was pH-dependent, with maximum sorption occurring at low pH conditions, especially at pH < p K a of the NHC. Though sorption of the cationic forms of the NHCs on clays was preferred, neutral, zwitterionic, and anionic species of NHCs also sorbed on the clay surfaces. Spectroscopic studies have shown that sorbed NHC molecules formed clusters on clay surfaces, which acted as templates for molecular aggregation. Finally, we have also found that the clay surfaces promoted protonation of neutral AcN molecules at low sorbate concentrations.