Characterization of pore-expanded amino-functionalized mesoporous silicas directly synthesized with dimethyldecylamine and its application for decolorization of sulphonated azo dyes.

With dimethyldecylamine (DMDA) as the expander, a new kind of pore-expanded amino-functionalized mesoporous silicas (PEAFMS) was directly synthesized under mild alkali condition. The characteristics of PEAFMS sample demonstrated that the presence of DMDA markedly augmented the average pore diameter (19.04 nm) and strongly enhanced its decolorization ability. Subsequently, acid mordant dark yellow GG (YGG) and reactive red violet X-2R (RVX) were chosen to assess its adsorption capacity for sulphonated azo dyes. The effect of initial pH was investigated and the decolorization mechanism was illuminated. Three isotherms were conducted and the goodness of fit increased as the following order: Freundlich < Langmuir < Redlich-Peterson. The maximum adsorption capacities of YGG and RVX onto PEAFMS were 1.967 and 0.957 mmol/g, respectively. Adsorption kinetic processes were better predicted by the pseudo-second-order rate equation than the pseudo-first-order one. Adsorption thermodynamic results suggested that the adsorption behavior of both dyes onto PEAFMS was spontaneous with the chemical nature. In addition, the regeneration of PEAFMS was proved to be feasible using NaOH as the strippant. After five cycles, PEAFMS still possessed a favorable adsorption capacity for dyes. It is safely concluded that PEAFMS could be a potential adsorbent for the dye removal from wastewater.