Kinetic studies on the uptake of phenols by linear and cyclic organic sulfonic acid-modified Cu-Al layered double hydroxides.

[Display omitted] • The adsorption follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. • The Δ G values for adsorption systems ranged from − 20 to 0 kJ/mol. • It indicates that adsorption could be classified as physical adsorption. • NP was adsorbed on OS•Cu-Al LDH by hydrophobic interaction. • AP was adsorbed on SCD•Cu-Al LDH by CH/π interactions. Our previous study revealed that Cu-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs) intercalated with 1-octanesulfonate and sulfonated β-cyclodextrin showed good adsorption selectivity toward m -nitrophenol (NP) and m -aminophenol (AP), respectively. We also found that the adsorption behaviors of these LDHs fit the Freundlich equation. Herein, we performed a kinetic analysis to elucidate the adsorption mechanism of the LDHs for phenols in greater detail. The adsorption results were fitted to a pseudo-first-order kinetic equation, a pseudo-second-order kinetic equation, and an intraparticle diffusion model. The correlation coefficients of the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation for each adsorption process were fairly high, and the measured and calculated equilibrium adsorption amounts were relatively close. Thus, the adsorption of NP and AP by OS•Cu-Al LDH and SCD•Cu-Al LDH, respectively, fits the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. Because the ΔG values for each system ranged from − 20 to 0 kJ/mol, the adsorption processes in these systems may be classified as physical adsorption. Specifically, NP was adsorbed on OS•Cu-Al LDH by hydrophobic interactions, whereas AP was adsorbed on SCD•Cu-Al LDH by CH/π interactions. Our findings provide new insights into the adsorption of phenols onto modified Cu-Al LDHs and could serve as a foundation for future studies on the adsorption properties of LDHs intercalated with anions as guest layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]