Chemical modification of cellulose by acylation: Application to adsorption of methylene blue

Cellulose was modified under mild conditions in order to increase its capability to trap pollutants. Nicotinoyl chloride hydrochloride (NCHC), with its pyridine ring able to adsorb cations, was grafted on the substrate. This grafting has been monitored by infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. We have studied the adsorption of Methylene Blue (MB) onto grafted and unmodified cellulose. It was observed that grafting increases three times the retention capacity of cellulose and the kinetics of adsorption is perfectly represented by a pseudo second order model. The adsorption is well described by a Langmuir-type isotherm showing a homogeneous adsorption phenomenon through the formation of a monolayer. Besides the reaction is spontaneous and exothermic, suggesting the possibility of recycling the substrate by desorbing the dye at elevated temperature