Adsorption behavior of sulfamethoxazole onto an alumina-solution interface

The adsorption measurements of sulfamethoxazole (SM) onto an alumina surface have been done at room temperature with an object to study the mode of SM adsorption at the solution-alumina interface. It is found that the adsorption isotherm is of the Langmuir type, showing a uni-layer formation of the SM molecules on the alumina surface. The adsorption is pH-dependent and found to increase with increasing pH of the medium. The adsorption is quite sensitive to the presence of Cl- and SO42- ions also and shows much interesting variation with increasing concentrations of the added anions. The adsorption also decreases with increasing temperature of the adsorption medium. Various kinetic and adsorption parameters such as the adsorption coefficient, rate constants for the adsorption and desorption, and surface coverage have been evaluated with the help of a proposed kinetics scheme.