Chemical Insight into the Adsorption of Chromium(III) on Iron Oxide/Mesoporous Silica Nanocomposites

Magnetic iron oxide/mesoporous silica nanocomposites consisting of iron oxide nanoparticles embedded within mesoporous silica (MCM-41) and modified with aminopropyl functional groups were prepared for application to Cr­(III) adsorption followed by magnetic recovery of the nanocomposite materials fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Langmuir 2015-07, Vol.31 (27), p.7553-7562
Main Authors: Egodawatte, Shani, Datt, Ashish, Burns, Eric A, Larsen, Sarah C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Chromium - chemistry
Ferric Compounds - chemistry
Nanocomposites - chemistry
Particle Size
Porosity
Silicon Dioxide - chemistry
Surface Properties
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Summary:Magnetic iron oxide/mesoporous silica nanocomposites consisting of iron oxide nanoparticles embedded within mesoporous silica (MCM-41) and modified with aminopropyl functional groups were prepared for application to Cr­(III) adsorption followed by magnetic recovery of the nanocomposite materials from aqueous solution. The composite materials were extensively characterized using physicochemical techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric and elemental analysis, nitrogen adsorption, and zeta potential measurements. For aqueous Cr­(III) at pH 5.4, the iron oxide/mesoporous silica nanocomposite exhibited a superior equilibrium adsorption capacity of 0.71 mmol/g, relative to 0.17 mmol/g for unmodified mesoporous silica. The aminopropyl-functionalized iron oxide/mesoporous silica nanocomposites displayed an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 2.08 mmol/g, the highest adsorption capacity for Cr­(III) of all the materials evaluated in this study. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments provided insight into the chemical nature of the adsorbed chromium species.
ISSN:0743-7463
1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b01483