Surface-functionalized activated sericite for the simultaneous removal of cadmium and phenol from aqueous solutions: Mechanistic insights.

The present communication addresses the development of a novel hybrid material precursor to natural sericite. The hybrid material is then successfully utilized for efficient removal of cadmium and phenol from aqueous solutions. Initially, sericite was annealed and activated with hydrochloric acid. The activation caused a significant increase in specific surface area of sericite, thereby provided a suitable surface structure for grafting of organosilanes. The activated sericite (AS) was functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), and the resultant AS-APTES along with pristine sericite and AS were characterized using SEM–EDX, BET, XRD and FT-IR analyses. Batch reactor studies showed that increase in sorptive pH, contact time, initial concentration and temperature significantly favored the sorption of Cd(II), and a 100-fold increase in background electrolyte concentration did not significantly affect the uptake of Cd(II) or phenol from aqueous solutions. Cd(II) removal was found to be spontaneous and the uptake process was endothermic in nature. Further, the intra-particle diffusion was found to be the rate-limiting step in the sorption of Cd(II). Various physico-chemical parametric studies enabled to discuss the sorption mechanism of these contaminants at the solid/solution interface. In a single pollutant sorption studies, it was deduced that the Cd(II) was forming an inner-sphere complexes, whereas phenol was sorbed through the hydrogen bonding with the amino groups or partitioned within the interspace region. Simultaneous sorption studies suggested that these two pollutants were possibly removed simultaneously by the prevailing hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. Furthermore, desorption and reusability studies as well as the applicability of the material for real wastewater treatment demonstrated that AS-APTES is a promising solid material for the efficient removal of two important water pollutants i.e., Cd(II) and phenol from aqueous waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]