Abstract
Amine modified nano-silica was prepared via a one-pot route and under very mild conditions in water in oil microemulsion with a non-ionic surfactant to study the effect of changing the amount of N-[3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (DA) added to the synthesis mixture on the characteristics of the obtained nanocomposite such as morphology, crystallinity, surface charge, particle size, surface area, and accordingly the effect of all of these factors on the efficiency of the nanocomposite for the removal of heavy metal ions, namely zinc, from aqueous solutions. XRD, SEM, TGA, BET, DLS, FTIR, and pH0 analysis were performed for samples and the results showed a strong effect for the amount of DA added to the synthesis mixture on the characteristics of the obtained nanocomposites. It was found that increasing the amount of DA added to the synthesis mixture increased the pH0, hydrodynamic particle size obtained by dynamic light scattering analysis, and the particle size obtained by SEM. Sample prepared without the addition of DA (SNP) and the samples prepared with 1.5 mL of DA (SNP-1.5DA) showed a better adsorption performance compared to the samples prepared with 0.5 and 1.0 mL of DA (SNP-0.5DA and SNP-1.0DA, respectively). The main factor affecting the adsorption efficiency was found to be the available surface area for each nanocomposite, which was directly related to the degree of crystallinity as obtained by XRD analysis.
Highlights
Silica nanoparticles are one of the most known stable, biocompatible, inert, and nontoxic materials [1,2]
The synthesis of uniform silica nanoparticles with a particle size in the range 100–1000 nm started by hydrolysis condensation of TEOS from aqueous solution catalyzed with ammonium in the early of 1960 [5]
1.54056 nm) at a scanning rate of 0.02 °/s in the 2θ range of 5° to the XRD pattern of all samples shows a major characteristic bro cating an amorphous nature of the obtained nanocomposites
Summary
Silica nanoparticles are one of the most known stable, biocompatible, inert, and nontoxic materials [1,2]. The synthesis of uniform silica nanoparticles with a particle size in the range 100–1000 nm started by hydrolysis condensation of TEOS from aqueous solution catalyzed with ammonium in the early of 1960 [5]. Much smaller silica nanoparticles were successfully prepared via microemulsion technique through the dispersion of water phase within a continuous oil phase with the aid of a suitable surfactant at the interface as stabilizing agent [5]. The micro water droplets encapsulated within the surfactant core act as a microreactor for the hydrolysis condensation of TEOS into nano-silica with excellent control over the particle size distribution via controlling the size of the droplets. Further improvement was achieved by adding a co-surfactant to increase the stability of the produced micro emulsion [5]
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