Thermodynamical and structural insights of orange II adsorption by MgRAlNO3 layered double hydroxides

[Mg1−x Alx(OH)2][(NO3)x, nH2O] Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) sorbents with variable Mg/Al molar (R=(1−x)/x) ratios were investigated for adsorption of azo dye, orange II (OII) at various pH and temperature conditions. Mg2AlNO3 displays the highest adsorption capacity with 3.611 mmol of OII per gram of Mg2AlNO3 at 40 °C. Adsorption isotherms have been fitted using the Langmuir model and free energy of adsorption (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°) and entropy (ΔS°) were calculated. The experimental values for ΔG° in temperature range between 10 and 40 °C were found to be negative indicating that a spontaneous process occurred. Positive calculated enthalpy values, characteristic of an endothermic process were found. Characterization of solids (PXRD, FTIR, UV–vis, TGA/DTA, adsorption isotherm BET analysis, SEM and Zetametry) before and after adsorption showed that adsorption proceeds in two steps. First, adsorption occurs at the LDH surface, followed by intercalation via anion exchange.