Removal of Cd ions by sol-gel silica doped with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol

1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-Naphthol (PAN) doped sol-gel silica has been investigated for removal of metal ions from aqueous media. In the doped sol-gel silica, the large reagent molecules are entrapped inside the pores while small metal ions can diffuse into the pores where they are complexed by the reagent and retained inside the pores. This new solid sorbent was applied for removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. The kinetics, adsorption isotherm, equilibration time and pH effect on the removal were studied to optimize the conditions to be utilized on a large scale. It was observed that a sol gel loaded with 0.09 mmol PAN/g, had a capacity of 0.044 mmol Cd/g. The desorption of metal ions was carried by 1 M HCl and the sol-gel silica sorbent could be regenerated and reused repeatedly.