Abstract
In this work, a mesoporous nanocomposite composed of nanogibbsite (alpha-Al(OH)(3)) and nanosilica was prepared. Gibbsite nanoparticles (GNPs) with a crystal size of approximate to 38nm were prepared from Al-dross industrial waste products in an acidic environment at 100 degrees C. Nanosilica (NS) with a crystal size of approximate to 13nm was prepared from sodium silicate using dilute hydrochloric acid. The deposition of nanosilica onto gibbsite particles was investigated. The mesoporous silica-gibbsite (NSG) nanocomposite was examined by evaluating its ability to adsorb the toxic anionic dye Eriochrome black T (EBT) from aqueous solution. The compositional and morphological properties of NSG nanocomposites were studied by means of the FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques. The effect of dye concentration, pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and temperature was investigated. The sorption models, the isotherms, and the thermodynamic parameters Delta Ho, Delta Go, and Delta So were evaluated. The N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms revealed that mixing the two prepared materials (NS and GNPs) to form the NSG nanocomposite resulted in good properties (a surface area of 62.34m(2)g(-1), a pore radius of 22.717nm, and a pore volume of 0.7081cm(3)g(-1)). The results show that the prepared NSG nanocomposite has a remarkable ability to adsorb toxic anionic dyes.