New copolymer of acrylamide with allyl methacrylate and its capacity for the removal of azo dyes

The copolymerization reactions of Acrylamide (AA) with the different mole ratios of allyl methacrylate (AMA) such as 25/75, 50/50 and 75/25 were studied by radical polymerization under argon atmosphere using 2,2’-Azobis (isobutyronitri1e) (AIBN) as initiator. The copolymers were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). FTIR spectra showed that the C=O, C-N and N-H groups in copolymers remained during the copolymerization. It is concluded from the thermograms that Poly(AA-co-AMA) copolymers which contained different ratios of monomer and comonomer exhibit similar thermal behavior. Adsorption capacity, kinetic and isotherm studies of Direct Brown 2 onto the copolymers have been evaluated. Different factors such as the monomer ratio, pH, initial dye concentration, copolymer dosage and contact time affecting the removal process were studied. It was found that the adsorption process agreed with the Freundlich and Dubinin-Raduskevich model and the adsorption of Direct Brown 2 depended on the acrylamide content and pH of the solution. The standard Gibb’s free energy was determined as 14.7 kJ/mol, which means that adsorption occurred spontaneously and the process is feasible. Increasing the acrylamide content led to increased adsorption of Direct Brown 2 on the copolymer. Moreover, adsorption kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the chemical adsorption was the rate-limiting step. These results show that Poly(AA-co-AMA) can be used as adsorbent for water pollutants such as Direct Brown 2 and has potential applications in related industrial and environmental areas.