OICC Press Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry 2193-8865 5 2 (June 2015) 2015 04 22 A comparative study on the basis of adsorption capacity between CNTs and activated carbon as adsorbents for removal of noxious synthetic dyes: a review 10.1007/s40097-015-0158-x EN Karim Zare Department of Chemistry, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IR Department of Chemistry, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, IR Vinod Kumar Gupta Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, IN Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Dhahran, Dhahran, SA Center for Environment and Water, The Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Dhahran, Dhahran, 31261, SA Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, ZA Omid Moradi Department of Chemistry, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IR Abdel Salam Hamdy Makhlouf Department of Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Texas Pan-American, Edinburg, US Mika Sillanpää Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Mikkeli, 50130, FI Mallikarjuna N. Nadagouda National Risk Management Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, WSWRD, TTEB, Cincinnati, OH, US Hamidreza Sadegh Department of Chemistry, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IR Ramin Shahryari-ghoshekandi Department of Chemistry, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IR Angshuman Pal Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 13699, US Zhou-jun Wang State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, CN Inderjeet Tyagi Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, IN Maryam Kazemi Department of Chemistry, Payame Noor University, Zanjan, IR Journal Article 2015 04 22 Abstract Rapid removal of noxious synthetic dyes from wastewater is of great concern in the scientific research field, this is due to the expansion of harmful effects of synthetic dyes traces in water streams on the environment and human health with the exponential rise in concentration of synthetic dye globally and demand in various industries that coincided with the implantation of more stringent water quality standards. Various technologies have been applied for the removal of synthetic dye from wastewater, including adsorption technology, which has a great potential in treating varieties of synthetic dyes. This article comprehensively reviews the latest progress in the development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their applications for the removal of synthetic dyes from wastewater, including functionalized of CNTs and their researched counterparts. The emerging trends in the development of alternative adsorbents with different substrates, morphologies, and functional groups are also elucidated.