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Abstract
Two types of titanosilicate (TiSi) materials were synthesized by the sol–gel method using pure and technical precursors. All samples obtained were characterized using X-ray diffraction, FTIR in the mid-region and the low-temperature nitrogen adsorption/desorption technique. The synthesized xerogels were found to be amorphous with a developed porous structure. Solution pH, sample mass, initial Cs+ concentration, competitive ions, contact time and temperature were studied for their influence on TiSi sorption ability. Both samples demonstrated a high capacity for caesium across a broad pH range of 2–12, and the adsorption isotherms were fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, Toth and Redlich–Peterson models, while the kinetic data were described using pseudo-first and pseudo-second models. All the TiSi samples were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy before and after the adsorption tests. Activated adsorption was proposed as a stage in the adsorption mechanism.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Elisa Alasuvanto for her assistance with the sorption experiments. We are also grateful to Yurij M. Kylivnyk and Valerij I. Yakovlev for assisting with the precursor preparation and for our fruitful discussions. Furthermore, we thank Mukola M. Tsyba for supporting the porous investigations and Kate Sotejeff–Wilson for our fruitful discussions and language support. We greatly acknowledge Prof. Christian Wolkersdorfer for fruitful discussions, language and technical support.