Synthesis of multi-organo-functionalized fibrous silica KCC-1 for highly efficient adsorption of acid fuchsine and acid orange II from aqueous solution

Abstract

Multi-functionalized fibrous silica KCC-1 (MF-KCC-1) bearing amine, tetrasulfide, and thiol groups was synthesized via a post-functionalization method and fully characterized by several methods such as FTIR, FESEM, EDX-Mapping, TEM, and N2 adsorption–desorption techniques. Due to abundant surface functional groups, accessible active adsorption sites, high surface area (572 m2 g−1), large pore volume (0.98 cm3 g−1), and unique fibrous structure, mesoporous MF-KCC-1 was used as a potential adsorbent for the uptake of acid fuchsine (AF) and acid orange II (AO) from water. Different adsorption factors such as pH of the dye solution, the amount of adsorbent, initial dye concentration, and contact time, affecting the uptake process were optimized and isotherm and kinetic studies were conducted to find the possible mechanism involved in the process. For both AF and AO dyes, the Langmuir isotherm model and the PFO kinetic model show the most agreement with the experimental data. According to the Langmuir isotherm, the calculated maximum adsorption capacity for AF and AO were found to be 574.5 mg g−1 and 605.9 mg g−1, respectively, surpassing most adsorption capacities reported until now which is indicative of the high potential of mesoporous MF-KCC-1 as an adsorbent for removal applications.