Iron oxides nanoparticles supported in a mesoporous matrix for the arsenic remotion of water

Abstract

Intake of arsenic (As) through the consumption of water or food irrigated with contaminated water has been a health problem around the world. In this work, mesoporous silica as a support material was synthesized by the sol-gel method with the application of a magnetic field reducing the time of its preparation, SBA-15vg. This modification to the synthesis method reduced the sol formation stage from 24 to 5 h while maintaining the textural and properties similar as well as the morphological properties of the SBA-15 and a specific surface area of more than 800 m2/g. In the system Fe/SBA-15vg incorporation into the mesoporous material of different species of iron oxide nanoparticles acting as active sites for the adsorption of inorganic As ions due to the reported affinity with iron species. Arsenic adsorption experiments were prepared in well water samples from a site located in Guanajuato, Mexico, through atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results showed that the Fe/SBA-15vg system could reduce the concentration of As (V) in water with low arsenic concentration and the presence of other heavy metals like cadmium, lead, and chromium.