Synthesis <scp>SBA</scp> ‐15 from fumed silica and their removal performance for rhodamine B

Abstract A large number of industrial solid waste fumed silica (FS) and organic pollutant rhodamine B (RhB) have been released into the environment, and effective remedy technologies for these two important contaminants are needed. In this study, FS was used as silicon source to synthesized ordered 2D mesoporous SBA‐15, and the obtained samples were used to separate RhB. The effects of crystallization time, temperature, and FS/P123 mass ratio on the lattice plane and surface properties of the samples were systematically investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and N 2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The results suggested that crystallization time of prepared SBA‐15 was found to be 0.5 times (12 h) shorter than the conventional silicon source (about 24 h). The RhB removal performance was evaluated by batch experiment. Combined with the results of characterization and adsorption kinetics, it was found that large pore size favoured the uptake of the organic compound RhB, and the surface area was not the key factor affecting the adsorption performance. The shortest equilibrium time 15 min was obtained at sample SBA(0.43)‐100(48). Its maximum RhB adsorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir model was 367.00 mg/g, which was higher than that of most previous reports. The results of pH and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) demonstrated that hydrogen bond and electrostatic attraction between N + of RhB and SiO − were the main adsorption mechanisms at the optimal pH 5.0.