Adsorption of sunset yellow FCF onto MCM-41

MCM-41, one member of the mesoporous molecular sieves M41S family, possesses a high surface area, high pore volume and a regular hexagonal array of cylindrical pores, which is largery used in selective adsorption, chemical sensors and nanotechnology. Recently, MCM- 41 has been used to adsorb dye from aqueous solution. Sunset Yellow FCF is used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Many dyes are toxic and carcinogenic and pose a serious hazard to aquatic living organisms. The adsorption of Sunset Yellow FCF food dye from aqueous solutions by MCM-41 was studied through adsorption isotherms. The effects of adsorbent dosage, contact time and temperature were investigated. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were applied in order to describe the experimental isotherms and isotherm constants.