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High‐Content, Well‐Dispersed γ‐Fe 2 O 3 Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Macroporous Silica with Superior Arsenic Removal Performance
Author(s) -
Yang Jie,
Zhang Hongwei,
Yu Meihua,
Emmanuelawati Irene,
Zou Jin,
Yuan Zhiguo,
Yu Chengzhong
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201302561
Subject(s) - materials science , adsorption , nanoparticle , arsenic , porosity , chemical engineering , particle (ecology) , specific surface area , oxide , composite material , nanotechnology , catalysis , metallurgy , organic chemistry , chemistry , oceanography , geology , engineering
Novel composites of iron oxide encapsulated in macroporous silica with excellent arsenic adsorption performance have been successfully developed. Macroporous silica foams with large pore sizes of ≈100 nm and a high pore volume of 1.6 cm 3 g −1 are chosen as the porous matrix. Electron tomography technique confirms that γ‐Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles with an average particle size of ≈6 nm are spatially well‐dispersed and anchored on the pore walls at even a high γ‐Fe 2 O 3 content of 34.8 wt%, rather than forming aggregates inside the pores or on the external surface. The open large‐pore structure, high loading amount, and the non‐aggregated nature of γ‐Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles lead to increased adsorption sites and thus high adsorption capacities of both As (V) and As (III) without pre‐treatment (248 and 320 mg g −1 , respectively). Moreover, the composites can reduce the concentration of both As (V) and As (III) from 100 to 2 μg L −1 . It is also demonstrated that the composites can be applied in a household drinking water treatment device, which can continuously treat 20 L of wastewater containing As (V) with the effluent concentration lower than the World Health Organization standard.