Novel Magnetic Silica-Ionic Liquid Nanocomposites for Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

In this work, new imidazolium silica-ionic liquids doped with magnetite nanocomposites are prepared for use in the field of water purification owing to their unique properties, which can be manipulated by an external magnetic field. A silane precursor based on aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) condensed with p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and glyoxal in an acetic acid solution is used to prepare disiloxyimidazolium ionic liquid (SIMIL). The silica composite (Si-IL) and silica-coated magnetite (Fe3O4-Si-IL) composites are prepared using the sol-gel technique. The chemical structures, morphologies, crystalline lattice structures, thermal stabilities, surface charges, surface areas, particle sizes, and magnetic characteristics of Fe3O4-Si-IL and Si-IL are investigated. The Fe3O4-Si-IL and Si-IL nanocomposites show excellent chemical adsorption capacities as 653 and 472 mg g−1, respectively, during times ranging 90 to 110 min when they are used as adsorbents to remove Congo red (CR) dye as a water pollutant.