Application of novel Polypyrrole/thiol-functionalized zeolite Beta/MCM-41 type mesoporous silica nanocomposite for adsorption of Hg2+ from aqueous solution and industrial wastewater: Kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies

Hierarchical zeolite consists of both microporous and unordered mesoporous structures. A composite of Polypyrrole/thiol-functionalized Beta/MCM-41 (PPy/SH-Beta/MCM-41) was prepared, characterized by FE-SEM, FT-IR, XRD, TGA and BET analysis and applied in the investigation of its adsorption characteristics for the removal of Hg2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Thiol-functionalized Beta/MCM-41 ( SH-Beta/MCM41) was prepared by 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) in the presence of aerosil-200 as a silica source by two-step hydrothermal crystallization procedure. Batch mode experiments were conducted and three kinetic models were used to describe the adsorption process. The experimental data fitted very well with the Pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The calculated thermodynamic parameters (AH, AS and AG) revealed that the adsorption of Hg2+ onto PPy/SH-Beta/MCM-41 is an endothermic and spontaneous process. It was found that temperature has a positive effect on the removal efficiency and that PPy/SH-Beta/MCM-41 is potentially able to remove Hg2+ ions from aqueous solutions at even high concentrations (400 mg L-1). The recovery of Hg2' from the PPy/SH-Beta/MCM-41 adsorbent was found to be more than 90% using 0.5 M H-2 SO4, and the ability of the absorbent to be reused for removal of Hg2+ was investigated. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.