Uncalcined Zn/Al Carbonate LDH and Its Calcined Counterpart for Treating the Wastewater Containing Anionic Congo Red Dye

In this investigation, Zn/Al carbonate layered double hydroxide (ZAC-LDH) and its derived material on calcination were synthesized for removing the anionic azo dye Congo red (CR) from wastewater. Numerous factors were methodically investigated, including temperature, adsorbent dosage, pH, starting Dye Concentration (DC), and contact time. The CR elimination percentage dropped as the initial DC increased from 25 mg/L to 100 mg/L at 30 °C for uncalcined LDH, and from 97.96% to 89.25% for calcined LDH. The pH analysis indicates that the highest level of dye removal was recorded within the acidic pH range through the electrostatic attraction mechanism. The sorption kinetics analysis results demonstrated that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model exhibited a stronger fit to both uncalcined LDH and CZA-LDH, with the maximum correlation coefficient value. The Van’t Hoff plots indicate the spontaneous nature of the physisorption process with a negative ΔG° (<−20 kJ/mol), while the endothermic adsorption process exhibited a positive ΔH°. The X-ray diffraction of calcined LDH reveals a significant intercalation of CR dye molecules, both prior to and following adsorption, showcasing a distinctive memory effect. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) gas sorption measurements were performed to support the mesoporous nature of ZAC-LDH and CZA-LDH. The FTIR spectrum confirms the interaction of dye molecules on the surface of uncalcined and calcined LDH. These findings emphasize the efficacy of both the synthesized LDHs in removing CR dye, with CZA-LDH demonstrating superior efficiency compared to uncalcined LDH in the context of CR removal from wastewater.