Synthesis of Amine-Functionalized MCM-41 and MCM-48 for Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Aqueous Solutions

In this research amino functional mesoporous MCM-41 and MCM-48 materials were prepared in an attempt to develop efficient adsorbents for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents were characterized by XRD, FTIR, and TG-DTG techniques. The synthesized adsorbents were used for the removal of Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions for the first time, and the influence of some effective parameters including concentration, initial pH, contact time, and temperature on the sorption process was studied and optimized. Significant adsorption capacities were obtained at low concentrations. The kinetic studies showed that the adsorption process was fast and more than 90% of equilibrium capacity was achieved within 60min. Experimental kinetic data was well fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters computed from the experimental data showed that the adsorption was endothermic and spontaneous.