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Abstract
<p class="first" id="d1837034e112">Fe3O4 nanoparticle with magnetic properties and
nanoscale features has provoked wide
research interest and great potential application. Herein, a modified Stober and template-removing
method was adopted to prepare magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), comprising
a Fe3O4 core and a mesoporous silica shell. The shell was functionalized by amino-groups
with tunable removal efficiency for aqueous heavy metals ions. Structural and magnetic
properties were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM)
and BET (Brunauer-Emmertt-Teller) techniques. Also, the adsorbing efficiency for heavy
metal ions was measured by UV-vis spectrometry. Results revealed that the pure magnetite
is cubic with a side length of 40 - 70nm, while the silica-coated magnetite is spherical
with a diameter of 220-260nm. The mesoporous silica shell has an average pore size
of 2.6nm and a high surface area of 675m2·g-1, which lead to a large adsorption capacity
for Fe3+ (up to 20.66mg of Fe per g of adsorbent). Moreover, rapid magnetic separation
and regeneration of as-prepared adsorbent were achieved conveniently. The distinctive
structure and the heavy metal ions removal property of magnetic nanocomposites reflect
their prospective application in water treatment.
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