LAUSR

Abstract A porous N-doped magnetic carbon aerogel (N-MCA) was successfully synthesized and applied for the removal of organic dye Congo red (CR). The surface morphology and structure of N-MCA were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, BET, EDS and VSM, which displayed well-developed porous morphologies, high specific surface areas, and excellent magnetic properties. The effects of different adsorption parameters, such as pH value, initial CR concentration, contacting time and adsorption selectivity on the adsorption capacity were studied. In addition, the adsorption isotherm and kinetics were also discussed, and the results showed that the adsorption process was in accordance with the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacity of CR on N-MCA was 431 mg g−1, which is much higher than that of MCA. The adsorption-desorption study indicated that the composite had an excellent stability and reusability. Therefore, N-MCA could be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of anionic dyes in wastewater.