TiO2@ phenyl-functionalized mesoporous silica for removal of bisphenol A from water

A novel phenyl-functionalized mesoporous silica based on TiO 2 supporter was synthesized to remove bisphenol A (BPA) quickly, which is a representative endocrine disrupting chemical. The prepared sorbents were characterized by nitrogen (N 2 ) adsorption-desorption measurement (BET) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of the temperature, initial pH value and initial BPA concentration of solution on the adsorption capacity were investigated. And adsorption behaviors of the adsorbent for BPA, such as adsorption kinetics, isotherms, thermodynamics and effect of coexisting pollutants, were also investigated. The result indicated the maximum adsorption capacity of TiO 2 -Mip-Ms (22 mg g –1 ) is the two times higher than that of TiO 2 -Nip-Ms (11 mg g –1 ), and the Langmuir model fits better than Freundlich model. The adsorption kinetic of BPA onto TiO 2 -Mip-Ms and TiO 2 -Nip-Ms belonged to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and adsorption rate constant of TiO 2 -Mip-Ms (0.0156 g mg –1 min –1 ) is near three times than that of TiO 2 -Nip-Ms (0.0058 g mg –1 min –1 ). The BPA adsorption onto TiO 2 -Mip-Ms was thermodynamically feasible and spontaneous.