Functionalization of SBA-15 materials for the adsorption of phenols from aqueous solution

Abstract

AbstractWater pollution by toxic organic compounds is a problem and demand for efficient adsorbents for the removal of toxic compounds is increasing. In the present work, we studied the functionalization of SBA-15 materials via the co-condensation between an alkoxysilane and an organoalkoxysilane in the presence of P123 as structuring agent. Several types of ligands were used: 3-mercaptopropylmethyldimethoxysilane, N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl] aniline; aminopropyltrimethoxysilane; [aminoethylamino]-propyltrimethoxysilanes and [(2-aminoethylamino) ethylamino] propyltrimethoxysilanes. These materials exhibit BET surface area of 275–776 m2/g and total pore volume of 0.29–1 cm3/g, depending on the ligand types and contents. Elementary analysis results confirm the incorporation of both thiol and amine group in the materials. Batch adsorption studies shows that the adsorption capacity of phenol drifts on the amine and thiol functionalized SBA-15 is greater than that on pure SBA-15. A linear relationship was observed between the adsorption capacity and N/SiO2 ratio. It was shown that the presence of amine promotes interactions with water molecules, on the other hand, these results can also be explained by the basic behavior of N-functionalized materials.