Preparation and characterization of copper and zinc adsorbed cetylpyridinium and N-lauroylsarcosinate intercalated montmorillonites and their antibacterial activity.

The main objective of the present study was the preparation and characterization of new cationic/anionic surfactants and Cu2+/Zn2+ modified montmorillonites and the evaluation of their potential applicability as antibacterial agents for topical applications. To evaluate the antibacterial activity of Cu2+ and Zn2+ by synergistic effect, as well as to reduce the well-known toxicity of these metal cations; cetylpyridinium (CP) and N-lauroylsarcosinate (SR) intercalated montmorillonite (Mt-CP-SR) was used as the host material. In addition to their role to capture the metal cations and inhibit their release in any contact medium, these surfactants also increase the efficacy of the material due to their antibacterial properties. The effect of surfactant loading on the adsorption behavior of the metal cations onto the Mt-CP was investigated using SR in two different concentrations, namely 0.7 and 1.0 CEC of sodium montmorillonite (Mt-Na). The samples prepared were characterized using SEM, ATR-FTIR, zeta potential, and XRD analyses and they were subjected to antibacterial tests using the "Standard Method Under Dynamic Contact Conditions" on the Gram positive S. aureus, and Gram negative E. coli. As confirmed with desorption and characterization studies, the addition of Cu2+/Zn2+ onto the Mt-CP-SR yielded double adsorbed amounts compared to that of the Mt-CP, which indicated that Cu2+/Zn2+ bound to SR- interacted with the Mt surface. In contrary of Zn2+ caused no considerable change in the antibacterial effect of the host, Cu2+ addition enhanced the antibacterial activity. The produced antibacterial agents have the potential use in dyes, polymer composites, personal care products, and topical medicinal applications.

Adsorption and desorption behavior of copper ions on Na-montmorillonite: effect of rhamnolipids and pH.

In this work, the effects of an anionic biosurfactant, rhamnolipid (RL), and pH on the adsorption and desorption of Cu(2+) ions on Na-montmorillonite were investigated. Adsorption studies were conducted through the addition of Cu(2+) to the dispersions containing pristine- and/or RL-modified clay. In the case of pristine clay, RL was also added simultaneously with the Cu(2+). The effect of pH was studied in the range between 1.0 and 8.0. The highest adsorption capacity was obtained at the pH of 4.7-4.8. Among the models including the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Kaganer-Radushkevich isotherms; Langmuir isotherm gave a better fit to the experimental data. The most suitable fit for the adsorption kinetics of Cu(2+) was obtained with a pseudo-second-order model. It was determined that the adsorption capacity of the pristine clay is comparable with that of the activated carbon and the modification of clay with RL causes an increase in the adsorption rate due to the distribution of clay platelets in the solution.

Effect of adsorbent concentration to the adsorption of phenol on hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium-bentonite.

In this work, it is intended to study the effect of adsorbent concentration on the adsorption of phenol by hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium-bentonite. The experiments were conducted in two groups. The adsorption of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HDTMA) on bentonite was studied in the first group of experiments. It was observed that the all HDTMA was adsorbed by the bentonite, even when the amount used exceeded 100% of cation exchange capacity (CEC). After the modification of bentonite by using HDTMA in an amount equivalent to 100% of CEC, the adsorption experiments were performed at five different adsorbent concentrations ranging from 2 to 10 g/L. A type V isotherm and a non-linear increase in percent removal with adsorbent concentration were observed. The observation of the non-linear relation between the percent removal and adsorbent concentration was attributed to the effect of intra particle interactions and it was represented by a second order polynomial. Several adsorption isotherm equations were applied to the experimental data. Although, the Freundlich equation fitted fairly well, it failed to represent the plateau and the second region that appeared in the isotherm. Therefore, an equation giving the equilibrium concentration as a function of initial and adsorbent concentrations was suggested.