Amino modified mesostructured silica nanoparticles for efficient adsorption of methylene blue

Abstract

In this work, mesostructured silica nanoparticles (MSNAP) with high adsorptivity were prepared by a modification with 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) as a pore expander. The performance of the MSNAP was tested by the adsorption of MB in a batch system under varying pH (2–11), adsorbent dosage (0.1–0.5gL−1), and initial MB concentration (5–60mgL−1). The best conditions were achieved at pH 7 when using 0.1gL−1 MSNAP and 60mgL−1MB to give a maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 500.1mgg−1 at 303K. The equilibrium data were evaluated using the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Harkins–Jura isotherms and fit well to the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption kinetics was best described by the pseudo-second order model. The results indicate the potential for a new use of mesostructured materials as an effective adsorbent for MB.