One-pot synthesis of functionalized mesoporous fibrous silica nanospheres for dye adsorption: Isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies

Abstract

Herein, for the first time, a novel adsorbent, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane-functionalized mesoporous fibrous silica nanospheres, was synthesized via a one-pot synthesis route. The synthesis method provided an efficient single-step procedure to fabricate an organofunctionalized fibrous silica-based adsorbent. The structure of the prepared adsorbent material was fully characterized by FT-IR, PXRD, FE-SEM/mapping, TEM, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption analyses. Structural investigations revealed that the material possesses a bimodal micro-/mesostructure architecture with a low ordering of silica material. Also, the adsorbent showed a uniform flower-like nanospheres with wrinkled surfaces and a relatively high surface area (250 m2 g−1). The adsorption performance of the material toward crystal violet as a toxic cationic dye was studied. The influence of various parameters including pH, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, contact time, and solution temperature, on the adsorption process, was systematically monitored. Non-linear forms of various kinetic and isotherm equations models were used to investigate the adsorption behavior of crystal violet onto the material. The isotherm data were fitted best to the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 164.3 mg g−1. Kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic studies demonstrated that the material can be applied as a promising adsorbent for the removal of toxic dyes from aqueous samples.