Potential of amino-functionalized cellulose as an alternative sorbent intended to remove anionic dyes from aqueous solutions

Abstract Adsorption has been explored to minimize the pollution caused by dyes. This work relates the preparation of diethylenetriamine-modified cellulose (DetaCel) by reacting phthalic anhydride-modified cellulose (PhCel) with diethylenetriamine (Deta). Materials were characterized by Elemental Analysis and results showed a degree of incorporation of 5.55 ± 0.02 mmol of nitrogen per gram of modified material. The main bands observed for DetaCel by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscospy (FTIR) were attributed to C N deformation (1330 cm −1 ) and N H stretching of amide (3400 cm −1 ), while Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of 13 C ( 13 C{ 1 H}CP-MAS NMR) showed a signal at 164.6 ppm characteristic of amide group. Crystallinity index (CrI) obtained by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) was 74.99 (Cel), 58.64 (PhCel) and 46.12% (DetaCel). Adsorbent matrices were employed to remove methyl orange (MO) and eosin (EY) dyes in aqueous medium. Data obtained experimentally from kinetic study had a better fit to the pseudo-first order, thus the adsorption process occurs in monolayer, with MO adsorption capacity by Cel and DetaCel of 2.19 and 65.45 mg g −1 , respectively. For EY adsorption by Cel and DetaCel was 1.30 and 56.69 mg g −1 , respectively. These results suggest that DetaCel can be used as an alternative potential for removal dyes in aqueous solution.