Synthesis of nanoadsorbent entailed mesoporous organosilica for decontamination of methylene blue and methyl orange from water

ABSTRACT

Water, being a universal solvent, is contaminated by highly toxic pollutants, which is alarming for life on this planet. However, eco-friendly human efforts are constantly trying to overcome this problem. In continuation of these efforts, the present study reported the synthesis of template-supported nanoadsorbents consisting of mesoporous organosilica (MPOS) through poly-condensation of organic (3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane) and inorganic (sodium silicate) silicon precursors. The nanoadsorbent with suitable textural characteristics, heat-resistant competency and highly porous nature provided a good platform for achieving an excellent performance to remove methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) from water. Due to easy handling and efficient adsorption capacity, the MPOS nanoadsorbent shows 93.1% and 66.7% adsorptions of MB and MO, respectively. The intra-particle diffusion kinetic model of synthesised materials explained high surface interactions of adsorbate on active sites of adsorbent, which also support possible chemisorption. The MPOS exhibited adsorption capacities of 57.58 mg/g for MB and 56.62 mg/g for MO by using the multilayered sorption mechanism. Reusability of MPOS is also checked up to file cycles and the results indicate the minute decline in the adsorption proficiency of regenerated MPOS. An eco-friendly synthetic approach, efficient exclusion of MB and MO and better regain results make these MPOS a competent nanoadsorbent for water decontamination.

KEYWORDS:

• Mesoporous organosilica (MPOS)
• adsorption capacity
• nanoadsorbent
• toxic pollutants
• water treatment

Acknowledgments

The authors are highly grateful to the Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan, for ensuring the needful facilitation for the completion of this research project.

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared no any conflict of interest

Supplementary material

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