Sol-Gel Synthesized Adsorbents for Metal Separation

Introduction Noble nanostructured adsorbents are of emerging interest due to the ability to fabricate and control thechemical and physical properties of these materialsNumerous materials have been developed in attemptto separate metal ions from aqueous st…

Sol-Gel Synthesized Adsorbents for Metal Separation

A series of organo-ceramic adsorbents have been synthesized by a sol-gel processing technique for metal ion extraction. These adsorbents generally have significantly high metal uptake capacities, good physical-chemical stabilities, and well-designed pore geometries compared to other pre-existing metal-chelating ceramic-based adsorbents. This work describes the synthesis and evaluation of pyrazole and calix4]arene crown adsorbents for selective separation of platinum, palladium, and gold and cesium ions, respectively, from solutions. These materials exhibit mesoporous properties with high surface areas and pore volumes. The sol-gel synthesis starting with precursor silanes and titania results in gel particles of de-sired pore characteristics and high capacity and stability. Characterization studies, such as adsorption iso-therms, breakthrough curves for fixed bed operation, and material stability, show promising results for appli-cations to metal sepation.