Synthesis and characterization of hybrid iron oxide silicates for selective removal of arsenic oxyanions from contaminated water

A series of hybrid silicates containing iron oxides was synthesized by adding various amounts of iron into silica on the basis of using post precipitation mechanism from aqueous solutions in order to form hydrated iron oxide species (HFO). The obtained materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, Zeta potential and low temperature nitrogen sorption. XRD analysis confirmed that HFO-Si was amorphous and iron oxide crystals in the silica cannot be detected due to the lower size of HFO, which is the probability of its occupied interstitial positions in the silicate matrix. However, TEM image showed the presence of nano-sized HFO located inside the silicate matrix. The adsorption properties and selective efficiency of the synthesized materials were examined with respect to the removal of As(V) and As(III) species from contaminated water under different experimental conditions and in the presence of competing anions. Increasing iron loading enhanced the arsenic adsorption capacity of HFO-Si; the maximum level of arsenic removal was 300 mg As/g HFO-Si after 5 successive loads. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.