Functionalized magnetic MCM-48 nanoporous silica by cyanuric chloride for removal of chlorophenol and bromophenol from aqueous media

A novel adsorbent with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles and melamine-based dendrimer amine functionalized mesoporous silica (MDA–magMCM-48) has been developed which would not destroy the pore structure and could supply a convenient way for separation of the adsorbent from water. The obtained adsorbent was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, TGA and N2 adsorption– desorption isotherm. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mesoporous MDA–magMCM- 48 material for the sorption of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and 4-bromophenol (4-BP). The effects of various operating parameters such as initial concentration, pH of the solution and contact time were thoroughly studied. From the sorption studies it is observed that the uptake of 4-CP (239.55 mg/g) was higher than that of 4-BP (222.9 mg/g). The Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms are used to model the equilibrium adsorption data.