A Study for Heavy Metals Adsorption by Nano-mesoporous Adsorbents

Mesoporous silicas for heavy metals adsorption were prepared by co-condensation of surfactant as a template and Ludox HS-40 as a silica precursor. Various mesoporous silicas with the introduction of chelating ligands (mercaptopropyl and aminopropyl groups) were synthesized to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The surface modification was conducted with a co-condensation process using the sequential or simultaneous addition of mesoporous silica and high concentration of the organosilane(3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane). These materials have been characterized by elemental analysis, XRD, SEM and TEM analysis. Adsorbents synthesized with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane shows a high loading capacity for Hg(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and anion Cr(VI). Especially the one synthesized with a mercaptopropyl function has the highest adsorption capacity for Hg(II) and Cd(II).