LOW-TEMPERATURE PLASMA-MODIFIED ZEOLITE VS. NATURAL BULGARIAN ZEOLITE - COMPARATIVE PHYSICOCHEMICAL, SPECTROPHOTOCHEMICAL AND FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY STUDIES

In this study; we investigate and compare the physicochemical and morphological properties, as well as the sorption potential, of a natural Bulgarian zeolite (NBZ) and a low-temperature plasma modified zeolite (LTPMZ). The NBZ was treated with low-temperature arc plasma. The evolution of the modifications was followed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric (UV-VIS), physicochemical and sorption studies. Digital microscope analyses proved that the crystallinity, sheet structure and textural properties of the natural material were not significantly affected by the plasma treatment. The comparative analyses of the obtained FTIR spectra showed that the plasma treatment caused the breakdown of siloxane groups at the clay surface and induced the formation of new silanol groups at the clay edges.-According to the UV/VIS and FTIR studies of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) sorption, the LTPMZ displayed a higher affinity to the cationic dye compared to the NBZ. This study demonstrates that low -temperature plasma treatments could be used to activate zeolites for environmental applications.