title: Engineering and optimization of nano- and mesoporous silica fibers using sol-gel and electrospinning techniques for sorption of heavy metal ions.
abstract: In this paper, we report on a novel design strategy of an efficient sorbent for removal of trace contaminants from water. This kind of sorbent is composed of a nonporous core of SiO(2) nanofiber and a mesoporous shell (denoted as nSiO(2)@mSiO(2) ("n" means "nonporous" and "m" means "mesoporous")). The nSiO(2)@mSiO(2) fiber possesses a continuously long fibrous shape and mesoporous micromorphology, thus, showing both high sorption capacity and separability. The flexible nonporous SiO(2) nanofiber was prepared with electrospinning first, followed by covering a mesoporous SiO(2) shell based on a modified Stöber method using CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) as the directing agent for formation of the mesopores. Also, functional thiol groups were grafted on the nSiO(2)@mSiO(2) to enhance its performance. With a large specific surface area and long fibrous morphology, the nSiO(2)@mSiO(2) fiber and its thiol-functionalized counterpart exhibit impressive performance on removal of Pb(2+) and Cd(2+) from water. Furthermore, the flexible texture and fibrous morphology of the nSiO(2)@mSiO(2) fiber also made the removal of metal ions and the separation process more convenient and efficient, implying that the nSiO(2)@mSiO(2) fiber could have great potential for industrial applications.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Huijiao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Jiajia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Dezhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008722:Methods; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D012822:Silicon Dioxide