Chemically modified silica surface as effective sodium cation scavenger

The surface modification of silica gel with polyoxaalkyl units has been obtained in a multi-step synthesis. The structures were identified by FT-IR spectroscopy by using silicon wafer technique. Three dyes occurring as sodium salts were used to determine the complexing ability of modified silica gel. The complex formation of compounds studied with Na+ has been studied by UV–vis measurements. The absorbance decrease at the maximum wavelength of each dye coloured solutions was observed in the presence of all compounds studied.