Enhanced sorption of Cu (II) ions from aqueous solution by ionic liquid impregnated nano-silica and nano-alumina particles

Abstract

In this study, the improvement of the Cu (II) ion sorption performance of nano- -silica and nano-alumina particles was investigated by the impregnation of 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide [Emim+Tf2N-] ionic liquid (IL). The immobilization process of IL was achieved via the ultrasound-assisted physical impregnation method. The structural and morphological characterization of the adsorbents was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The thermal stability of the ionic liquid impregnated nanoparticles was also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of the loading ratio (LR) and the sonication time (tD) on the sorption performance of the modified nanoparticles were investigated. The efficient adsorption was obtained by using the particles containing IL at the loading ratio (mL-IL/g-part) of 0.5:1. And the optimum value for the sonication time was chosen as 15 min in ethanol media. The sorption performances of the nanoparticles were enhanced by impregnation up to 92% in the aqueous media. The sorption equilibrium behaviour of the modified nanoparticles was also evaluated. The experimental data indicated that the equilibrium behaviour was in line with the Langmuir sorption isotherms.nema