Synthesis, Characterization and Adsorption of Eosin Y Using New Chitosan Schiff Base Functionalized Malic Acid/Fe2O3 Composite

In this study, new chitosan Schiff base functionalized malic acid (CS-SB/MA) and its Fe2O3 (CS-SB/MA/Fe) composite were prepared through a simple route and characterized by different techniques including FT-IR, XRD, TGA, DSC, FESEM, and BET. The characterization results indicated that the desired compounds, CS-SB/MA and CS-SB/MA/Fe, were successfully prepared. In addition, the adsorption of Eosin Y (EY) from aqueous solution using the as-prepared compound, CS-SB/MA/Fe, was studied. The influence of important parameters such as pH solution and contact time were also studied and reported. EY adsorption by the as-prepared CS-SB/MA/Fe2O3 composite was found to be optimal at a pH solution of 5, a contact time of 90 min, and an adsorbent dosage of 0.02 g. The maximum removal percentage and adsorption capacity were calculated to be 93.56% and 65.52 mg/g, respectively. The EY adsorption followed by the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model as a chemisorption process including different interactions between anionic groups of EY and the functional groups of CS-SB/MA/Fe. Therefore, the prepared chitosan-base adsorbent, CS-SB/MA/Fe, has great potential application for the removal of organic dyes from wastewater.