Synthesis, characterization and environmental application of polymethyl methacrylate/glass fiber composite

Abstract

In the present study, polymethyl methacrylate PMMA/glass fiber (GF) composite was synthesized by melting method, characterized by using different techniques like Fourier Transform Infrared Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Differential Thermal and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (DTA/TG), Nanozetasizer, and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and then, the effect of pH and temperature on the removal efficiency with PMMA/GF composites of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions was investigated in batch adsorption system. SEM image showed that GFs had fiber, and dispersed in polymer matrix; DTA/TG and DSC that the thermal stability of PMMA increased with the adding of GF into PMMA matrix, and changed the decomposition mechanism of PMMA. PMMA/GF composite exhibited higher decomposition temperature. Higher solution pH (3 to 9) favoured the adsorption of MB dye. The dye adsorption increased from 0.57x10(-5) mol/g to 4.36x10(-5) mol/g on increasing the initial pH from 3 to 9. The high-temperature also promoted the adsorption capacity of the composite, where at 50 degrees C the adsorption capacity was reached 6.18x10(-5) mol/g, which showed that adsorption process was endothermic. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were used for the numerical depiction of equilibrium data, and the best fit was obtained using the Langmuire isotherm model due to high correlation coefficient. The results indicated that PMMA/GF composite was a promising adsorbent for the removal of dyes from aqueous solution.