Abstract
In the current study, a hybrid mesoporous material infused with metallic oxide nanoparticles, MCM-48 with TiO2 nanoparticles, has been developed for potential application in water treatment. MCM-48 belongs to a family of mesoporous siliceous materials—M41S, in which MCM-48 has a unique three-dimensional cubic symmetry structure. Using this hybrid approach, it will allow the polluted water to pass through the strong yet high permeable structure of mesoporous material and to allow enough time for the pollutants to react with the metallic oxide nanoparticles infused on the porous structure so that the polluted water can be treated without introducing secondary pollutants. A modified hydrothermal method has been developed to synthesize three samples of this hybrid material with TiO2 nanoparticles of 15, 50, and 300 nm in diameter, respectively. The microstructures before and after the infusion of nanoparticles are characterized using scanning electron microscope and X-ray powder diffraction. Under the current study, the synthesized samples are tested for their capability of removing organic dye and trace metals. The results have shown that while all three hybrid materials have shown over 80% adsorption rate for organic dye, the sample synthesized using 300 nm TiO2 nanoparticle has shown the highest adsorption rate. Similarly, the highest adsorption rate for most trace metals tested here also occurs in the sample made with 300 nm TiO2 nanoparticle. Coincidently, the sample prepared with 300 nm TiO2 nanoparticle has a much larger internal surface area and smaller average pore size compared to the two other samples, which may lead to the higher adsorption rate of trace metals and organic dye tested here. This study has presented a hybrid mesoporous material that can be potentially used for pollutants removal in water treatment. Future study is needed to investigate how to reuse this hybrid mesoporous material and to obtain a further understanding of the mechanism affecting the micro structures of the hybrid material.
Highlights
IntroductionWater pollution is a fundamental and critical problem for human health and the environment, and it remains one of the main threats and challenges humanity faces today. Pollution loading from point and non-point sources continues to have significant impacts on our receiving waters, that
The current study has shown a promising hybrid mesoporous material infused with metal oxide NPs, namely “MCM48 with TiO2 NP,” can be synthesized using modified hydrothermal methods for water treatment
This material has shown a good adsorption capability for organic dye and trace metals: While using this hybrid material, it can achieve over 80% adsorption rate for organic dye and most trace metals tested here
Summary
Water pollution is a fundamental and critical problem for human health and the environment, and it remains one of the main threats and challenges humanity faces today. Pollution loading from point and non-point sources continues to have significant impacts on our receiving waters, that. A large amount of toxic organic and inorganic compounds from many industries and agriculture is excreted into the soil, air, water, food, and eventually they will be consumed by human. MCM can be used to break down organic matters such as oxidation of cyclohexene with H2O2, photocatalytic reduction of CO2 and H2O, and peroxidative oxidation of methyl methacrylate and styrene This current work focuses on MCM-48 because MCM-48 has a 3-D channel system compared to the one-dimensional hexagonal MCM-41 and two-dimensional lamellar MCM-50, which can lead to an effective molecular trafficking of pollutants and an enhanced pollutants removal efficiency. The ability to remove toxic compounds of TiO2 NP together with the ability to adsorb on the large surface area and uniform pores of MCM-48 can be combined to make a great material for water purification. MCM-48 infused with TiO2 NP is synthesized by a modified hydrothermal technique. Three varied sizes of TiO2 NP (15 nm, 50 nm, and 300 nm) are used for the synthesis with MCM-48 and tested for their adsorptions of heavy metals and organic components
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