title: The retained templates as "helpers" for the spherical meso-silica in adsorption of heavy metals and impacts of solution chemistry.
abstract: The spherical mesoporous silica (meso-silica) MCM-41 and those with different dosage of the retained templates were prepared and characterized. Particularly, effects of the retained template and its dosage on the adsorption of typical heavy metals (Cu2+and Cd2+) in the synthesized materials were investigated. The results indicated that the retained templates acted as "helpers" for the adsorption of Cu2+and Cd2+in the spherical meso-silica MCM-41, and the maximum adsorption capacities (Qmax) increased with the increase of the retained template dosage. The interaction between the metal ions and the cationic heads of the templates contributed to the enhancement effect due to the anions (Cl-and OH-) electronically adsorbed on the interface of the template micelles. Additionally, the presented results indicated that the adsorption of Cu2+and Cd2+depended on pH and high ion strength of the solution but not on the coexisted humic acid.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: zhjliang@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Zhijie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: SWX@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wenxin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of National Defense Architecture Planning and Environmental Engineering, Logistical Engineering University, Chongqing 401311, China. Electronic address: hit_zzw@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: tianyi0328@163.com.
authors.forename: Tianyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: cuifuyi@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fuyi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cui
keywords: Adsorption; Heavy metals; Interface complexation; Meso-silica materials; Solution chemistry