Studies of Hg2+ adsorption and desorption by mesocellular foams silica

Abstract

MCFs (mesocellular foams) silica, a mesoporous material, was synthesized by the hydrothermal method using tri-block copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (Pluronic P123, EO20-PO20-EO20) as a structuring agent and 1, 3, 5-trimethylbenzene as a pore-expanding agent and the product was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The prepared MCFs was employed as the adsorbent for a study of the adsorption of Hg2+. The adsorptive experimental results showed that the optimal adsorptive conditions were: pH = 5.0, MCFs amount 0.10 g, temperature 20°C, and adsorption time 40 min, when the initial concentration of Hg2+ is 1.0 mg mL−1. The maximum adsorptive amount of Hg2+ was 124.5 mg Hg2+ g−1 MCFs. The desorption studies found that the best desorbing agent is 0.10 M hydrochloric acid. The highest desorption rate of 80.61 % could be reached at a desorption duration of 3 h. The cost of the adsorbent used in this study is lower than that of activated carbon with a higher value of application.