Efficient Lead(II) Adsorption onto Mesoporous Silica Aerogels Synthesized via Green Method, Organic Solvents, and Modified Aging

Green approach, organic solvents, modified aging and ambient pressure drying were followed to synthesize two type of silica aerogels (SGTEH-Iso and SGTEH-Sim). The gels were characterized using SEM, FTIR and BET. The results indicated that both the aerogels possessed remarkably decent properties with highly mesoporous structure. Such properties are significantly attributed to novel modified sol-gel aging method employed for each aerogel. The prepared silica aerogels were investigated for their Pb (II) removal from aqueous solution. Among the two aerogels, SGTEH-Iso performed better than SGTEH-Sim, which is a result of isolated aging with solvents versus simultaneous aging. When the results of the present study were compared to the similar previous studies, the removals by both the aerogels were enhanced and higher.