Characterizations and nitrate adsorption capacity of Amine-SiO2 material

Abstract

Amine-SiO2 material (basically on silicon dioxide) was synthesized by the grafting method with triamine silane to form activated amine groups on the surface of SiO2 support and was applied as a novel adsorbent for nitrate removal from aqueous solution. The characterizations of Amine-SiO2 were determined by using TGA, FTIR, BET, SEM. Nitrate adsorption capacity and durability of Amine-SiO2 were compared with the anion exchange resin (Akualite A420 commercial). The results showed that Amine-SiO2 had high nitrate adsorption capacity, ~ 1.14 fold higher than the Akualite A420 ion exchange resin, based on the adsorption efficiency. This might be due to a strong affinity for nitrate ions of the activated amine groups on the surface of SiO2 support. In addition, the experimental results also proved that Amine-SiO2 material had good durability (stable performance after 10 regeneration times).