Abstract

The adsorption of 2-nitrophenol on zeolites 3A (KA) and 5A (CaA), the general name of which is Linde Type A (LTA), have been investigated by using fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. Nitrophenols can be regarded as both occupational and environmental pollutants. In this work, LTA zeolites which are commercially suitable media for environmental pollutants are used to remove nitrophenols. FT-IR spectroscopy can give useful and often definitive information on the structure and surface properties of zeolite before and after the adsorption. The spectral data showed that the source of adsorption of the 2-nitrophenol on zeolites 3A and 5A is the interaction between the hydroxyl (OH) group of the adsorbent and the surface silanol groups of the zeolites by means of a hydrogen bond.

Key words: Adsorption, Linde Type A (LTA) zeolites, 2-nitrophenol, IR spectroscopy.