Mesoporous silica and mesoporous silica core shell materials have shown great potential as adsorbents due to high surface area, tunable porosity and ease of surface modification to tailor the surface properties. Applications for electrospun hematite nanofibers can be limited by their fragility and chemical stability in aqueous environments. A facile method for encapsulating electrospun hematite nanofibers with mesoporous silica was developed, which enabled control of the thickness of the mesoporous silica shell. The electrospun hematite/mesoporous silica core-shell nanomaterial was characterized using physicochemical techniques such as powder X-Ray diffraction (pXRD), Nitrogen adsorption desorption isotherms, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), solid state NMR and zeta potential measurements.<br/>This core-shell material is more robust than the parent electrospun hematite nanofibers, and it can withstand up to 5 days in pH 1 medium. The electrospun hematite/mesoporous silica core-shell nanomaterial functionalized with (3-Aminopyopyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) was evaluated for Cr(III) and Cu(II) adsorption from aqueous solutions in the optimum pH range for the specific metal. The aminopropyl functionalized mesoporous silica core-shell nanomaterial displayed a high adsorption capacity for Cr(III) and Cu(II) presumably due to a combination of metal binding to the amine functional group and favorable electrostatic interactions with the silica surface.

Adsorption of chromium and copper on electrospun hematite mesoporous silica core shell nanomaterials

251st National Meeting (2016)

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