Mesoporous Silica Polymer Nanocomposites Functionalized With Vinyl Pyridine And Vinyl Pyrrolidinone for The Adsorption Of Humic Acid

In order to induce the hydrophobicity and the influence of functional vinyl monomers, vinyl pyridine (VP), vinylpyrolidinone (V2P) and vinylsulphonic acid (VSA) were impregnated into SBA-15 matrix to generate SBA/L nanocomposites and characterized for the adsorption of humic acid (HA) for the first time. The structural order of the SBA/L samples was confirmed by standard physicochemical characterizations (powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), adsorption isotherm, SEM etc). Considerable adsorption (120-140 mg/g) of HA was observed over basic (SBA/VP and SBA/V2P) nanocomposites compared to the acidic ones. Adsorption parameters like effect of temperature, pH, weight of the adsorbent and time were studied. The possible mechanistic pathway for hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions was also explained.