Study on thermal, mechanical and adsorption properties of amine-functionalized MCM-41/PMMA and MCM-41/PS nanocomposites prepared by ultrasonic irradiation

Gholamhossein Mohammadnezhad; Saeed Abad; Roozbeh Soltani; Mohammad Dinari

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.06.001

Study on thermal, mechanical and adsorption properties of amine-functionalized MCM-41/PMMA and MCM-41/PS nanocomposites prepared by ultrasonic irradiation

Ultrason Sonochem. 2017 Nov:39:765-773. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.06.001. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

Authors

Gholamhossein Mohammadnezhad¹, Saeed Abad², Roozbeh Soltani², Mohammad Dinari³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Islamic Republic of Iran. Electronic address: mohammadnezhad@cc.iut.ac.ir.
² Department of Chemistry, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Islamic Republic of Iran.
³ Department of Chemistry, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Islamic Republic of Iran. Electronic address: dinari@cc.iut.ac.ir.

PMID: 28733004
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2017.06.001

Abstract

In this study, two common industrial polymers, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS), were incorporated into amine-functionalized MCM-41 mesoporous silica as reinforcement agents via an ultrasonic assisted method as a facile, fast, eco-friendly, and versatile synthetic tool. Amino functionalization of MCM-41 were performed by 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane as a coupling agent and it is denoted as APTS-MCM-41. The obtained nanocomposites (NCs), APTS-MCM-41/PMMA and APTS-MCM-41/PS, were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Their mechanical properties were also probed via stress-strain curves and improved tensile properties were observed in the NCs relative to the neat polymers. Additionally, APTS-MCM-41/PMMA exhibited better mechanical properties than APTS-MCM-41/PS. Sorption studies were carried out on the two NCs and the effect of different process parameters, namely, pH, contact time, and initial Cd(II) concentration investigated in batch mode. Pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models explain the Cd(II) kinetics more effectively for APTS-MCM-41/PMMA and APTS-MCM-41/PS, respectively. The adsorption isotherm data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm for both NCs and the maximum monolayer adsorption capacities were found to be 24.75mg/g and 10.42mg/g for APTS-MCM-41/PMMA and APTS-MCM-41/PS, respectively. The results demonstrate that the NCs show potential for use in adsorption of heavy metal ion such as Cd(II) from aqueous media.

Keywords: Cadmium(II) removal; MCM-41; Nanocomposite; Poly(methyl methacrylate); Polystyrene; Ultrasonic technique.