The increased termal stability associated with humic acid anchored onto silica gel

Abstract: Commercial humic acid (HA) was anchored onto silica gel (SiAPTS) previously modified with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS). HA was anchored onto SiAPTS through two routes: adsorption and covalent chemical immobilization onto the surface. The adsorption occurred by adding SiAPTS to HA in an aqueous solution, producing SiHA1, while chemical immobilization was performed by reacting HA suspended in N,N-dimethylformamide with SiAPTS, to yield SiHA2. The infrared spectra confirm HA immobilization using both procedures and the termogravimetric results showed that the anchored compounds have significantly thermal stability increased. While natural HA presents a thermal stability up to 200C, the anchored compound presents a thermal stability near to 750C.