Synthesis of 1-(furan-2-yl) imine Functionalized Silica as a Chelating Sorbent and its Preliminary Use in Metal Ion Adsorption

A new silica gel material covalently bonded with 1-(furan-2-yl) imine (SiNFn) was synthesized and well characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, C-13 NMR of the solid state, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm, BET surface area, B.J.H. pore sizes, thermogravimetry analyzer (TGA) curves, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The new chelating surface exhibits good chemical and thermal stability. The synthesized SiNFn was investigated as an adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) from aqueous solution. The determination of metal ions was carried out on FAAS using batch method. The adsorption capacity was investigated using kinetics and pH effects. The preliminary results show that the new material presents high adsorption toward copper compared to other described sorbents.