Fe nanoparticle-functionalized ordered mesoporous carbon with tailored mesostructures and their applications in magnetic removal of Ag(i)

Abstract

Fe nanoparticle-functionalized ordered mesoporous carbon (Fe0/OMC) was synthesized using triblock copolymers as templates and through solvent evaporation self-assembly, followed by a carbothermal reduction. Fe0/OMC had three microstructures of two-dimensional hexagonal (space group, p6mm, Fe0/OMC-1), body centered cubic (Im3̄m, Fe0/OMC-2), and face centered cubic (Fm3̄m, Fe0/OMC-3) which were controlled by simply adjusting the template. All Fe0/OMC displayed paramagnetic characteristics, with a maximum saturation magnetization of 50.1 emu·g−1. This high magnetization is advantageous for the swift extraction of the adsorbent from the solution following the adsorption process. Fe0/OMC was used as an adsorbent for the removal of silver ions (Ag(i)) from aqueous solutions, and the adsorption capacity of Fe0/OMC-1 was enhanced by the functionalization of Fe0. Adsorption property of Fe0/OMC-1 was significantly higher than that of Fe0/OMC-2 and Fe0/OMC-3, indicating that the long and straight ordered pore channels were more favorable for adsorption, and the adsorption capacity of Ag(i) on Fe0/OMC-1 was 233 mg·g−1. The adsorption process exhibited conformity with both the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich model, suggesting that the dominant mechanism of adsorption involved multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces.