Synthesis of sulfonated polystyrene sphere based magnesium silicate and its selective removal for bisphenol A

Abstract In this work, a sulfonated polystyrene sphere (SPS) based magnesium silicate nanocomposite (SPS@MgSi x ) with superior adsorption capability has been prepared for the removal of BPA, a kind of emerging pollution existed in various wastewaters. It was obtained by in situ growth of the Talc-phase Mg 3 Si 4 O 9 (OH) 10 (MgSi) on the surface of SPS, in which the SPS substrate can effectively avoid the agglomeration of MgSi. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) has shown that interwoven nano-sized MgSi uniformly distributes on the surface of SPS, leading to a high adsorption capacity (Q 0 : 357.14 mg L −1 ) for removing bisphenol A (BPA). It is worth noting that these composite materials also exhibit relative good adsorption capability even under high-concentration salt conditions, for example, the adsorption capacity still keeps at about 331.14 mg g −1 in the presence of high concentration Na + or Ca 2+ . The Zeta potential tests indicate that the high adsorption capacity may be related to an electrostatic interaction between SPS@MgSi x and BPA. The excellent adsorption behaviors of SPS@MgSi x show that it is a highly promising candidate for removing BPA in aqueous solution.